JAY – A Dixfield man was charged Thursday with failure to report an accident by the quickest means and operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs, police said.

Jay police arrested Joshua Krell, 48, after an investigation into the crash, said Police Chief Larry White Sr.

White and Jay police officer Roderick Small responded when a truck hit a pole at 4:40 p.m. on East Jay Road, the chief said. Before they arrived, the driver had fled, White said, and was picked up by someone driving a beige truck.

While Small and White were investigating the scene, a wrecker arrived, White said. The wrecker operator said someone had flagged him down and asked him to tow the vehicle, White said.

While the investigators were speaking to the wrecker operator, White said, a beige truck drove past the scene. The wrecker operator told police that he believed the beige truck’s occupants had flagged him down.

White pursued the vehicle from the East Jay Road to the Plaisted Road, off Route 133, where the beige truck stopped. After questioning the occupants, the police arrested Krell, White said. Krell was taken to Franklin County jail where he was also being held on a probation violation, he said.

The 1999 Dodge truck that had been driven by Krell sustained about $5,000 damage, White said. The utility pole had minor damage, he said.