A hit-and-run driver heading east on Simpson Avenue in Hoquiam abandoned his vehicle after it left the roadway, struck a traffic signal pole and flattened a one-way street sign early Friday afternoon.

The full-size, lifted Ford pickup sustained major damage to its front end after striking the pole in front of the Smoker’s Haven shop, at the intersection of 23rd and Simpson.

According to Hoquiam Police Officer Jarrod Figg, a female employee of the smoke shop approached the male driver, who told her his brakes had suddenly failed. Figg said when the employee entered the store to call authorities, the man left on foot.

The license plates on the pickup did not match the vehicle identification number, which came back to a female owner. Figg added there were no witnesses to the actual crash; the smoke shop employee came out after she heard the collision, but no drivers on the roadway at the time stopped long enough to offer any information.