Driver arrested in DUII hit-and run crash that knocked out phone service to Bend-La Pine Schools for days

(Update: Bend Police details on crash, arrest)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A weekend crash into a utility box and brick wall in downtown Bend led to a driver's arrest and also took down Bend-La Pine Schools' external phone system until repairs were completed on Monday.

Around 11:20 p.m. on Friday, officers responded to a crash at Bond Street and Idaho Avenue, after a caller reported a blue Subaru crashed into a utility pole, Bend Police Communications Manager Sheila Miller told KTVZ News. The driver also hit a brick wall there.

Miller said the driver, 23-year-old Hunter Trikha of Bend, was walking away from the scene when officers arrived. He was arrested on suspicion of driving with a suspended or revoked license, a misdemeanor, along with reckless driving, hit-and-run accident with property damage, second-degree criminal mischief and a felony DUII charge.

Jail records show he was being held Monday on $5,000 bail pending arraignment on the charges.

Meanwhile, court records reviewed by KTVZ News show Trikha was cited twice in August for driving with a suspended or revoked license. He's due for arraignment Jan. 12 on one charge, after a conviction for failure to appear was vacated, as well as a status check on his license in the other case. Each citation carries a $440 fine.

The school district said on its BLConnect text service around 9:15 a.m. Monday that the resulting phone outage was affecting incoming and outgoing calls at all schools.

At the time, officials had no estimate of restoration. They advised parents and others needing to contact the district to use individual schools' websites to find an email address for office staff.

Director of Communications Scott Maben told KTVZ News that the crash into the phone utility box on Bond Street was next to the school district's administrative offices.

That caused a system-wide outage of external calls, Maben said, but did not affect internal calls among schools, staff and offices.

The external phone service was restored by the noon hour, Maben said.

During the outage, Maben said it was "an inconvenience, but we are managing," with families still able to contact schools by email or in person, if needed. He heard of no issues for student programs.