A North Carolina truck driver was arrested Thursday after reportedly striking a utility pole and leaving the scene of the accident while her driving trainer was riding with her.
Darlene A. Snowadzky, 52, of Roxboro, North Carolina was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident with property damage in the area of North College and West Eighth.
At approximately 12:32 p.m. Thursday, officers responded to a report of a hit-and-run accident in which a tractor trailer had struck a utility pole and left the scene.
While en route, police received information that the semi-truck was turning north from Eighth onto West Avenue.
Unable to find the semi-truck in the area along the avenue, police headed toward scene of the accident and saw that a light pole was badly damaged on the southeast side of the intersection.
Entergy crews were called to the scene.
A witness told police she heard a loud noise and saw overhead utility lines “shaking.”
The witness said she then saw a tractor trailer strike the light pole as it turned east onto Eighth from College and continued driving.
Officers received information that the truck bore an Indiana license plate.
While police were speaking to the witness, a second witness notified emergency dispatchers that the truck was in the parking lot of the former Family Dollar store in the 700 block of East Hillsboro.
Police made contact with the driver, Snowadzky, and took her into custody.
Snowadzky told officers that a passenger who was inside the truck at the time was her driving trainer for Celadon Group, a trucking company based in Indiana.
The driving trainer told police that Snowadzky struck the utility pole and continued driving east, according to a police report.
Police noted damage —wood chips from the utility pole and scrapes — along the passenger side of the trailer.
The driving trainer was released and took possession of the tractor trailer, police said.
Due to overcrowding in the Union County jail, Snowadzky was transported to the Calhoun County jail.
Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 [email protected].