By Brandi Makuski

A 22-year-old man who injured a young girl in a hit-and-run accident at a north side drive-thru restaurant is scheduled to plead out on Thursday.

Joshua J. Fair of Stevens Point was arrested after hitting the vehicle in front of him at the Division St. McDonald’s on Feb. 16. Police were called to the scene shortly before 6 PM.

According to the criminal complaint, Fair hit the female driver’s car in front of him, then backed up and drove around the vehicle he struck and fled the scene. The woman’s 11-year-old daughter was als in the vehicle and sustained “minor damage to the back” consistent with a slow-speed collision. The woman later told police the girl felt better in the morning and so she was not taken to the hospital.

The woman driving the car was able to provide a basic description of Fair, and other witnesses at the scene provided a partial license plate, which later was determined to belong to Fair’s girlfriend.

Police were unable to locate Fair at the address associated with his girlfriend’s vehicle, but then traveled to another home where he was suspected to be. En route to that home, police observed the girlfriend’s vehicle traveling east on Francis St., and identified Fair during a traffic stop.

Police discovered Fair was already on probation for an unrelated incident, and a search of his vehicle yielded a metal pipe containing marijuana residue.

Fair denied being involved in the accident, telling police he lent the car to a male friend for a “test drive” and alleging an accident occurred during that drive. When police interviewed Fair’s friend to verify the story, and asked if the man knew why they were there, the man said, “It’s because Josh hit that car and then took off, right?”

The man also told police he was sitting in the passenger seat during the accident while Fair was behind the wheel.

Fair is scheduled to appear before Portage Co. Circuit Court Judge Robert Shannon at 2:30 PM on June 9.