Garbage truck driver arrested after hit-and-run on Hwy. 30 in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - Deputies in Linn County had to chase down a garbage truck Monday after it rear-ended a vehicle and kept driving, the sheriff's office said.

The hit-and-run crash happened on U.S. Highway 30 in Cedar Rapids when a Toyota Corolla, driven by Gary Sams of Anamosa, slowed for a funeral procession on Highway 30 near Knapp Road. The car was struck from behind by a refuse truck driven by Robert Truax, 61, of Marion, according to the Linn County Sheriff's Office.

Maj. Chad Colston of sheriff's office said it appears Truax attempted to swerve to avoid hitting the Corolla, clipping the passenger car's back end before driving into the median and then back onto the roadway.

Colston said the truck belongs to A-1 Disposal Services Inc., where Truax is employed.

A representative at A-1 Disposal declined to comment on the incident or the status of Truax's employment.

Sams was transported to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, the sheriff's office said.

Colston said the truck driver tried to continue driving on Highway 30 until he was stopped by deputies who were at traffic control posts for the funeral procession.

Truax was taken into custody under suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

Colston said Truax told the officers 'he thought he avoided an accident by taking the median.”

At the Linn County Correctional Center, Truax refused to take a Breathalyzer test, according to the criminal complaint.

He faces one count of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage, second offense. The complaint states Truax previously was convicted of OWI on Dec. 13, 2012.

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