A Northwood man who allegedly fled from the scene of a crash that injured one person in July south of Glenville has been charged with a felony in Freeborn County District Court.

James Allen Thompson, 30, is charged with criminal vehicular operation, gross misdemeanor driver failure to stop for an injury accident, gross misdemeanor failure to notify police of a personal injury crash and misdemeanor careless driving.

Court documents state Thompson was charged after a Minnesota State Patrol trooper was dispatched at about 7:05 p.m. July 6 to a hit-and-run crash with not life-threatening injuries on U.S. Highway 65 south of Glenville.

The driver of the motorcycle that was struck said he pulled over to check his GPS for directions, and he and a passenger were sitting on the motorcycle. He said an orange pickup pulling a trailer approached them from behind at 40 to 45 mph, sideswiping the motorcycle with the passenger side of the truck and trailer before continuing heading south, dragging a saddlebag and other items from the motorcycle.

Court documents state the driver said his right ankle was injured in the crash but denied medical care at the scene. The passenger was thrown from the motorcycle, court documents state, but did not report injuries.

The driver, whose name was not listed in court documents, said in late August he had four broken bones and six torn ligaments in his right foot.

A pickup with damage deemed consistent with a sideswipe crash was found at Casey’s General Store in Lake Mills.

Thompson arranged to meet a state trooper in Emmons. He and the passenger of the pickup allegedly offered different reasons on why they traveled from Hartland to Lake Mills on their way home to Northwood.

Court documents state Thompson said the damage to the trailer must have been there before he bought it, and he and the passenger allegedly both denied involvement in the crash.

After arriving in Emmons, court documents state the motorcycle driver identified the pickup as the vehicle that struck them.

Thompson’s first appearance is scheduled for Dec. 20.

Thompson’s mugshot was not available as of press time. As of Friday morning, he was not in custody in Freeborn County.

 

See what happened last night in the PM report here.