Trucker charged in incident that damaged Sugar Grove bridge

A Nebraska man is charged with leaving the scene of a property-damage accident, after his truck hit a bridge support March 19 on Route 47 near Sugar Grove, police announced Monday.

Jay L. Pavey, 57, of Lincoln, Neb., has been charged with unlawful use or damage of a highway; failure to provide information following a crash; operating an over-height vehicle; and violation of an oversize permit.

An oversized load driven by Pavey hit the underside of the Route 30/56 bridge over Route 47, causing “serious damage,” Sgt. Tom Barna said in a prepared statement. Route 47 was closed for several hours while state transportation department engineers inspected the bridge.

Investigator Steve Kurzawa began tracking the offender with a description of the truck and the oversize load. A photograph of the load was found on an Illinois State Police dashboard camera and was determined to be a piece of mining equipment. Kurzawa found the manufacturer, then tracked the trucking company and the driver, Barnes said.

Pavey is scheduled to appear at Aurora Branch Court at 9 a.m. June 26.