A Salina man is facing driving and drug charges after allegedly hitting a piece of heavy construction equipment with his SUV.

The Saline County Sheriff’s Office reports that 27-year-old Francisco Merrell allegedly drove around a closed road barricade on Muir Road Sunday morning and then knocked an excavator down a dirt slope at a bridge construction site near Falun Road.

Deputies say Merrell was found about three hours later walking in the area after he had abandoned his 2005 Chevy Trailblazer at the work site.

Authorities did not have a damage estimate total on the equipment owned by King Construction.

Merrell is now facing numerous charges for leaving the scene of an accident, providing false information to officers and being found in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.