JAY — Police said a local man is accused of leaving the scene of an accident at Elm Street and Western Avenue on Friday and failing to report it.

Curtis Brown III, 24, was arrested after he drove his brother’s car into a utility pole, shattering it and driving away at 1:16 a.m., Cpl. Jeffrey Fournier said Monday. Several vehicle parts were left behind, including the front bumper with the registration plate attached and a headlight, Fournier said.

The plate was registered to Garret Leiter of Jay, who was not the driver at the time crash, Fournier said. He followed a water trail from the leaking radiator to Woodsdale Drive where he found the car with blood on the airbag and a cracked windshield but no driver.

Concerned the driver may have gone into the woods and collapsed, Fournier received help from Frankin County Sheriff’s Lt. David Rackliffe and his dog, Justice, who were unsuccessful in picking up a track.

Police contacted Leiter and learned Brown was his brother and was the driver, Fournier said. Brown was found later Friday at a Woodsdale Drive residence, Fournier said.

Brown had a fat lip and a broken nose, and Officer Dylan Rider drove him to Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington to be checked and then to the Franklin County jail. 

Brown was arrested on misdemeanor charges of failure to report an accident by quickest means, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident and violation of condition of release for an unrelated matter. He was released on $150 cash bail Friday, and is scheduled to appear June 28 at a Farmington court.

dperry@sunmediagroup.net