An unlicensed trucker crashed into an overpass in Rossford, Ohio, in the wee hours of the morning. After leaving the scene of the accident, a witness followed the driver to a nearby truck stop. There, police arrested him, charging him with driving without a license, an oversize violation, and fleeing the scene.

The crash occurred at around 2 a.m. on Friday morning. According to reports, the driver was Lavoris Ruth, a 43-year-old man from Florida. He was hauling an oversized load and traveling on I-75. When he came up to the Lime City Road overpass, he tried to slip under the low-clearance bridge.

Unfortunately for Ruth, his load was too tall to slip under the overpass. It struck the overpass, causing significant damage to the bridge. It also damaged Ruth's truck, causing it to leak fuel onto the highway. Ruth then drove to a nearby parking lot, where police found and arrested him.

Ohio officials have closed the overpass as well as one of the northbound lanes of I-75. They will both clean up the freeway and determine if the bridge is structurally sound before reopening it. There will have to be repairs to the bridge, which officials say may cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The unlicensed trucker faces three charges.

The first of the three charges is driving without a proper license. Authorities have not yet clarified whether the man had no license at all, the wrong kind of license for the load, or an expired license. However, the upshot is that the man didn't have a license to drive the vehicle he drove.

The second charge is for failing to have an oversized permit. Ruth's load was overheight, and if he had the proper permits, he would have known that he couldn't take that route. Without the proper permits, he caused the accident to happen.

The final charge is for fleeing the scene of the crime. If Ruth had stayed in place, he would only face the first two charges. While these charges are serious enough on their own, they are heightened by this charge.

If nothing else, this situation reminds us that it's important for truckers to maintain compliance. Completing all of your necessary trucking filings can help you avoid situations like this. So, make sure you get all of your permits and file all of your IRS forms this year!