SKOWHEGAN — A 77-year-old driver is facing a criminal charge after hitting and injuring a bicyclist Thursday, police said.

The bicyclist, Allen Freeze, 67, of Fairfield, was struck from behind while traveling on U.S. Route 201, also known as Waterville Road, in Skowhegan around 6 p.m., according to Chief David Bucknam of the Skowhegan Police Department.

An initial investigation showed that the driver who struck Freeze — Daylin Butler, 77, of Farmingdale — “was not focused on the road and drifted across the white line on the right side of the road” and struck Freeze, Bucknam said.

Freeze, who was not wearing a helmet, was thrown from the bicycle and suffered “non-life-threatening” injuries, including possible broken bones, Bucknam said.

Butler was charged with aggravated driving to endanger as a result of the police investigation, Bucknam said. Police issued Butler a summons to appear in a Skowhegan courtroom at a later date.

Freeze was taken by ambulance to Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan for treatment, Bucknam said. A LifeFlight of Maine helicopter was initially dispatched but later canceled after evaluation of Freeze’s injuries.

Freeze’s bicycle was destroyed, Bucknam said.

Maine State Police conducted a reconstruction of the crash, Bucknam said. The Skowhegan Fire Department also responded to the collision, according to Somerset County’s emergency dispatch log.

Bucknam said police do not yet know why the driver became distracted.

Even so, Bucknam said in a statement that “these types of accidents are becoming more and more frequent as there are too many distractions inside a motor vehicle which takes attention off the road.”

“Although texting and driving is the most common distraction in today’s society, adjusting the radio, putting on makeup, eating, drinking and socializing with passengers also takes your attention off the road and causes unnecessary collisions,” Bucknam said. “These are easily fixed if the driver of a vehicle chooses to work on removing as many distractions as possible prior to getting onto Maine roads.”