SOLON — Police arrested a Bowdoin resident Sunday after he allegedly crashed a sport utility vehicle and fled the scene on foot, leaving his injured passenger behind, according to a press release.

Using a tracking dog, of the Somerset County Deputy Sheriff David Cole found Toby Johnston, 35, about 3 a.m. in nearby woods and arrested him on charges of operating under the influence and leaving scene of a motor vehicle accident.

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Toby Johnston
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The passenger, another man from the town of Bowdoin, was taken to Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan for treatment of his injuries, the release stated.

Police said they had received a report about 12:44 a.m. that a northbound 2003 Chevrolet TrailBlazer left U.S. Route 201 at the West Road intersection and hit a utility pole. Cole and the dog found Johnston a few hundred yards away in the woods, according to the news release.

The TrailBlazer was a deemed a total loss and the impact snapped the pole in two, police said.

Both of the charges against Johnston are class D crimes. Speed and alcohol appear to have been factors in the accident, police said.

State police assisted in the investigation.

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