***  WATCH ***  CRIMINAL CHARGES FOR NEW BEDFORD MAN AFTER BARNSTABLE POLICE DISCOVER SHATTERED UTILITY POLL

WEST BARNSTABLE, MASSACHUSETTS – [HN VIDEO NOTES] –  Barnstable Police patrol officers were called to the area of Osterville West Barnstable Road and Pioneer Path after a caller reported seeing a motor vehicle snap a telephone pole in half before fleeing the area, at around 5:30 p.m. Thursday evening. The fleeing suspect vehicle was described as a dark colored landscaping dump truck. The truck was last seen traveling south on Osterville West Barnstable Road. (A witness later told HN he allegedly saw the driver get out at the crash scene and look around before fleeing.) Moments later a patrolman reportedly spotted a dump truck fitting the description with its plow down scraping along the pavement while traveling south on Osterville West Barnstable Road. The officer was able to conduct a traffic stop at the intersection of Osterville West Barnstable Road and Race Lane. The dump truck had front end damage consistent with striking a telephone pole. According to a police source, the driver reportedly admitted to just striking something, but professed he thought it was a tree. Just over half a mile away, officers discovered a snapped utility pole hanging over the roadway. They also found a large gouged-out section of an embankment, mangled small trees, pieces of a front-end light assembly, and other suspected dump truck parts. Damage at the abandoned crime scene, including the snapped utility pole, was photographed by a member of the sheriff’s crime scene unit. At the traffic stop, damage to the dump truck was also photographed. According to police sources, Carlos Gomes, 41, of New Bedford, received a criminal motor vehicle citation for Negligent Operation and Leaving the Scene of a crash with Property Damage. The suspect did not own the damaged dump truck. No further details were available at the time of this report. The following HN Video contains footage from both the crash scene and traffic stop. It also contains Barnstable Police radio transmissions. [HN VIDEO – PRESS PLAY] P.S. – Today’s Hytown Vignette is a brought to you by Antonio Carlos Jobim…  [CLICK IT/CRANK IT! HEADPHONES ABSOLUTELY OBLIGATORY!]