A Bainbridge teenager has been charged with hit-and-run, after he crashed his pickup truck into a utility pole on Shotwell Street early Saturday morning, according to Bainbridge Public Safety.

Residents of the 500 block of East Shotwell Street called 911 to report hearing a loud noise just after 4 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011. When BPS Officer Hank Day arrived, he saw that a pickup truck had struck a utility pole, knocking out power on Shotwell Street and the surrounding neighborhood.

According to BPS incident reports, 18-year-old Charles Cole Bulger, of 195 Kelley Road, was traveling west on Shotwell Street in a 2004 Ford F-150 when the accident happened. Bulger later told police he had dropped his iPod music player on the floorboard of his truck and took his eyes off the road as he reached down to get it.

The truck swerved off the northern side of Shotwell Street and struck the pole, after which the truck turned over onto its driver’s side and skid about 40 feet further down the street. The truck came to rest partially off the roadway; Bulger climbed out of the truck’s back seat and crossed Shotwell Street headed south.

When BPS officers arrived, they searched for Bulger but were unable to find him; his father was called and the teen driver turned himself into police around 6:30 p.m. Bulger stated he had attempted to find help after the accident but ended up walking to his residence just off Dothan Road, a distance of about 4.5 miles northwest of the accident scene.

Bulger was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an accident, violating Class D license restrictions, failure to report an accident with damage, failure to maintain lane and unsafe operation of an electronic device while driving.