Charges are expected to be filed against the driver who struck a cyclist and left the scene on the Norridgewock Road in Fairfield on Oct. 26, according to Paul St. Amand, captain of the Fairfield Police.
After Fairfield Police posted about the hit-and-run on the department’s Facebook page, the driver called the department on Oct. 27 and said they may have hit someone with their car the night before, according to St. Amand.
Jason Annis, 34, a lifelong Fairfield resident, was hit around 11:30 p.m. while he was riding from his job at Dunkin’ Donuts inside Walmart on Waterville Commons Drive to his home on Hutchins Road in Fairfield, according to Amanda Roberts, Annis’ cousin.
The driver left the scene and a passerby who found an injured Annis minutes after the accident called police. Fairfield Police, Fairfield Benton Fire and Rescue and Delta Ambulance responded to the call at 11:33 p.m., where they noted that the driver was gone.
Annis was taken from the scene to a hospital in Portland with serious injuries, according to Roberts. Annis suffered a fractured spine, a broken ankle, two skull fractures and two compound fractures in one of his legs. He also had bleeding in his brain and was in a medically induced coma, Roberts said.
According to a Facebook post made by Jason’s brother David Annis on Nov. 2, Jason is speaking and has been removed from the critical care unit and moved into his own room.
Roberts said Annis was riding in the breakdown lane of the road and was not wearing his helmet when he was hit.
The driver hit Annis after veering off the right side of the Norridgewock Road, hitting a mailbox and then swerving back onto the road, according to Fairfield Police Chief Tom Gould.
After the driver came forward, police recovered the 2014 gray Nissan Sentra and have obtained a search warrant.
The cause of the hit-and-run remains undetermined, but St. Amand said distracted driving may have played a part.
Fairfield Police are working with State Police to execute the search warrant on the vehicle, after which more information will be available, according to St. Amand.
The driver is expected to be charged with leaving the scene of an accident and failure to report an accident.
“Even if he just thought he hit a mailbox he was supposed to report that,” St. Amand said.
The driver has been cooperative and has no known driving related convictions, according to St. Amand.
Fairfield Police, State Police and the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the case.
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