An El Dorado man who admitted to looking at his cellphone while driving, striking a utility pole and driving away, was being held in lieu of bond Monday in the Union County Jail.
Anthony V. McKinnon, 31, of 4407 Mount Holly Road, was arrested Sunday for leaving the scene of accident with property damage, no liability insurance, and use of a hand-held wireless device while driving.
A first appearance hearing was held Monday for McKinnon in 35th Judicial District Court.
Officers were called at 5:32 p.m. Sunday to the area of Jackson and Peach in reference to a hit-and-run accident. Police said an Entergy electrical pole had been knocked off its base and was hanging precariously on overhead utility wires.
An AT&T ground wire bow was also damaged, police said.
They said a vehicle bumper, which appeared to have come from an older-model car, lay several feet away from the utility pole.
The accident was captured on surveillance video from a nearby business, according to a police report, and while reviewing the footage, police said they saw a vehicle that was traveling north on Jackson veer off the road and strike the utility pole.
Police noted that the airbags deployed inside the vehicle, and the driver, later identified as McKinnon, exited the vehicle and walked to the back of the vehicle, briefly going out of the range of the surveillance camera.
Moments later, McKinnon was seen getting back inside the vehicle and driving away from the scene, continuing north on Jackson and turning east on Faulkner, police said.
Officers said the vehicle was missing the left rear hubcap and did not have a license plate.
While circulating the area, police said they found the vehicle parked on North Highland a short time later with McKinnon inside. They said the engine was not running, the airbags were deployed and the front bumper and left rear hubcap were missing.
When asked if he had been involved in an accident, McKinnon said yes, adding that he left the scene “because he panicked.”
He told officers “he looked down at his cellphone and the next thing he knew, he hit the ‘telephone’ pole.” McKinnon also said he had just purchased the car and did not have automobile insurance.
Because of two previous convictions for no liability insurance, police said McKinnon was ordered jailed without the option of bond.
Bond set in domestic battery case
Also in district court Monday, bond was set at $15,000 for another defendant who was accused of striking his girlfriend in the head, allegedly with a flashlight, during an argument.
Antwinn L. Daniel, 45, of 1214 Roosevelt, was arrested Saturday for second-degree domestic battery.
At 9:31 p.m., police responded to a report of a battery at the Roosevelt residence, and upon arrival, they saw Lewis and a woman arguing in the street, noting that the woman was bleeding from a severe laceration to the head.
The woman said she and Daniel argued because he “was talking to another woman on his cellphone.”
She said she grabbed the phone and broke it, and Daniel reacted by calling her a profane name and grabbing a rifle from the house. The woman said that when she pushed the rifle away, Daniel grabbed a flashlight and struck her in the top of the head with it.
She said she then fled the residence and called police.
The woman declined medical attention on the scene and was transported by private vehicle to Medical Center of South Arkansas for treatment, police said.
Daniel told officers that the woman shoved him, and when he shoved her back, she fell and struck her head. He was then taken into custody.
Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or by email at [email protected].