A Redmond man received a week in jail for fleeing the scene of a serious injury accident on U.S. Highway 97 in April.

Stuart Adam Keyte, 56, was already fired for the incident by the Central Oregon Irrigation District, and on Monday in Deschutes County Circuit Court, he learned his fate in his criminal case.

Judge Alycia Sykora questioned the sentence for being too light but ultimately agreed to go along with the recommendation of seven days jail to be followed by 12 months probation and a 90-day driver’s license suspension.

On April 22, Keyte finished using an excavator at a COID work site and again loaded the machine onto a flatbed trailer without lowering the boom, and started driving north on Highway 97 back to COID’s utility yard in Redmond.

The boom struck an overhead telephone wire spanning the highway, snapping it and bringing down the two supporting telephone poles on either side of the highway.

At the same moment, Joseph Zimmer, 64, was driving an Audi AA6 in the opposite direction.

“All of a sudden I had a power line coming right at me and heard the loud bang of it hitting my car,” Zimmer told the court Monday.

The cable shattered Zimmer’s windshield and entered his car, flaying the back of his left hand. He steered to a stop and noticed he couldn’t move his hand.

“All the bones and tendons were exposed,” he said. “I was worried I was going to lose my hand. It scared me to death.”

Keyte continued driving until a motorist flagged him down less than a mile away, and police pulled him over after he returned to the highway. He didn’t deny causing the accident. Police found no indication that Keyte was impaired at the time.

Keyte was initially charged with two counts of felony hit -and -run, one of misdemeanor hit -and -run and one of misdemeanor criminal mischief.

The case resolved Monday with Keyte being sentenced for one count of misdemeanor hit -and -run.

Zimmer told the judge his life is drastically different now. He requires help with tasks he once considered basic, like buttoning his pants, tying his shoes and cutting his meat. The injury ended Zimmer’s career as a professional driver and forced him to find other work, he said.

“Your honor, I’ve been a CDL driver for 20-plus years and when you hit something substantial, you stop, secure the scene to prevent further damage, call your dispatch and call 911. Folks with a CDL know that better than anyone.”