Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies arrested the driver of a truck hauling an excavator who they say brought down a power line onto another vehicle Wednesday afternoon.

Redmond resident Stuart Keyte, 55, was arrested, said Sgt. William Bailey, a sheriff’s spokesman, in a press release. 

Around 2:45 p.m., deputies were called to a report of a hit and run on U.S. Highway 97 north of Bend. A truck and an excavator with its boom extended had hit a power line and continued traveling north on Highway 97. Lines fell on an Audi AA6, causing serious injuries to its driver, Joseph Zimmer, 64. 

“The truck caught power lines in the area, which then broke off a power pole and caused the lines and guy-wires to fall across Highway 97,” Bailey said. “A guy-wire struck the hood and windshield of Zimmer’s vehicle as he drove southbound, causing him serious, non-life threatening injuries. Zimmer was transported by ground ambulance to St. Charles in Bend.”

About a half-hour after the accident, an Oregon State Police trooper reported seeing a white International 550 dump truck pulling a tracked excavator near the Redmond Airport on SE Airport Way.

Keyte was arrested on suspicion of felony hit and run, also called failure to perform the duties of a driver. During an interview, Keyte allegedly said he was aware he’d hit the power line with the excavator but left the scene anyway, Bailey said.

The truck is owned by the Central Oregon Irrigation District.