A Washington Court House man was arrested after police say he ran a truck off of a dead-end road, into a creek, and attempted to flee the scene.
According to police reports, Joshua Varnell, 34, of Washington Court House, was traveling eastbound on Sycamore Street on the south side of Washington Court House Sunday afternoon when he drove a truck through a guardrail, over a set of railroad tracks, through a wooden ramp, and off the side of a cliff before falling several dozen feet into a creek.
The truck Varnell was driving, a 2002 red Ford pickup, rolled when it was driven off the side of the cliff.
Several decades ago, a bridge used to cross over Paint Creek at the scene of the crash in the 300 block of Sycamore, behind The Eagles Lodge. It was removed in the late 1970′s due to extreme disrepair and barricades were put in place but that didn’t stop Varnell from attempting to cross.
“The roadway is clearly marked that it ends,” police wrote in their report, “and is blocked with a guardrail.”
After driving off the side of the cliff, Varnell attempted to flee the area but was stopped by several witnesses, according to Police.
“[Varnell] stated that he thought he was on a different street and wasn’t paying attention to the roadway in front of him,” police said.
He sustained minor injuries, was cited for failure to control, and was arrested at the scene on an obstruction of official business charge.
The bike path remains closed in the area until city crews are able to make repairs to the ramp that was damaged.