Driver Strikes Rock Wall In Sparta, Then Proceeds Home, Police Say

On Sunday afternoon, a suspect in a hit-and-run accident where a car hit a rock wall drove past a parked Sparta patrol officer and onto the driveway of a residence, according to Sparta Police.

Sparta Police reported that on Sunday afternoon, at about 2:45 PM, patrol units got an alert about a car hitting a wall on Alpine Trail and leaving the scene of the accident. A patrol officer parked in his car on Alpine Trail spotted a vehicle matching the description of that suspected vehicle, a 2017 Hyundai, passing by.

The officer turned around in his patrol car and went in search of the suspect. He found the car in the driveway of a nearby residence with the driver, 28-year-old Erik P. Tikkanen from Sparta, circling his car and checking the side for damage.

The patrol officer found, in talking to Tikkanen, that the suspect may have been driving his car while intoxicated. The officer gave Tikkanen a series of sobriety tests, which the suspect failed, and placed him under arrests. Tikkanen was charged with DWI, Careless Driving, Leaving The Scene Of An Accident, and Failure To Report An Accident. He was released several hours later to a sober adult pending a court date.