FARMINGTON – An investigation into a hit and run crash involving a truck that struck a house last week concluded Thursday when police pieced together information and located the driver.

Sam Nichols, 47, of New Sharon, was charged with leaving the scene of a property damage accident and failure to give notice of an accident by quickest means, said police officer Mary Hastings.

Nichols told police on Thursday that he didn’t know he had hit a house but thought he had struck a ditch after falling asleep. He was apologetic and is taking full responsibility, Hastings said.

Waking from the sounds of a crash at 3:45 a.m. on Oct. 9, Janet Washburn thought her wood pile must have toppled over. Following the sounds of a second crash coming from her kitchen, she heard two men talking, she said Tuesday.

The wood pile was intact but the wall of her kitchen was hit by a truck, she said. The second crash came as a wall of old bricks under the clapboards tumbled in to her kitchen.

Her brick home located at 115 Wilton Road is across from the garden island on the West Farmington side of Center Bridge.

Washburn woke her daughter, Lynn, who called police. Hastings said she was only a couple of miles away when the call came, so the event happened quickly.

Based on tire tracks, the truck drove through Washburn’s backyard on to Thomas McClellan Road to Davis Road and headed up Oak Street. Mud was splattered everywhere and a side-mirror and several pieces of the truck were found, Washburn said.

After coming across the bridge heading west, Nichols fell asleep, and instead of rounding the corner went over the curb and across the island, Hastings said.

He then went across Water Street, ran over a stump and a pile of bricks, she said, before he struck a pine tree and bounced to the left, hitting the house. His airbag deployed and caused minor injuries for Nichols, Hastings said. Nine days later, he still had a black eye.

Debris from the vehicle left at the scene had police searching for a 2000 or newer blue Chevy pickup, she said, but they had no plate, no person or anything else to go on. Expecting a report for a stolen vehicle or someone to come forward, the incident remained a mystery until an insurance agent called police while checking on a claim submitted by Nichols. He was looking for an accident report on what he thought had happened at 4 a.m. Oct. 9 on Route 4.

Putting the information together, Hastings took the side mirror and bumper guard to Hilltop Garage where the vehicle was being repaired and everything matched, she said. She then talked with Nichols, who took responsibility for the damage to the building. Nichols told Hastings that he was alone at the time, she said. An attempt to reach Nichols on Thursday was unsuccessful.

Hastings estimated damage to the wall of the house, furniture and paintings to be around $8,000.

Attempts to reach Washburn on Thursday were also unsuccessful. The house originally belonged to her grandfather, she said Tuesday, and is about 200 years old. Her son-in-law, a carpenter, has patched the hole in her kitchen until he can complete the work, she said.