A Tennessee man who crashed a side-by-side UTV into a building at the Park County Fairgrounds is facing a felony charge in connection with the April incident.

The Park County Attorney’s Office has charged Eugene Smucker with property destruction and defacement totaling $1,000 or more, alleging the 32-year-old “knowingly” damaged the property. For his part, Smucker reportedly told Powell police the crash was an accident, saying he’d been focused on eating a chicken strip at the time. Smucker is set to formally enter a plea to the allegation at a Monday appearance in Park County District Court.

The buildings and grounds shop, which is located north of the grandstands, has since been repaired at a cost of more than $5,000, said Park County Buildings and Grounds Superintendent Trever Kattenhorn.

Charging documents say that surveillance cameras captured the Honda Pioneer crashing into the buildings and grounds shop around 9 p.m. on April 16. County staff discovered the damage the following morning and responding Powell Police Officer Kevin Bennett described it as “extensive.” The impact from the UTV caused the siding to cave into the building, knocked a garage door off its tracks and broke an interior water line, Bennett wrote in an affidavit, with tire tracks “burned into the concrete.”

When reviewing the surveillance footage, the county’s events coordinator reportedly recognized the Honda as Smucker’s; the construction worker had been staying in a camper on the northeast corner of the grounds.

In a phone conversation on the morning of April 17, Smucker initially told Bennett that he “had no idea why I would be talking to him,” the officer recounted. But after some more questions, Smucker said, “Oh yeah,” and acknowledged hitting the building, the affidavit says.

“When asking further details, he [Smucker] advised that he was eating a ‘chicken strip’ and looked up too late,” Bennett wrote.

When asked if he’d been drinking, Smucker reportedly said he’d had only one beer and had not been intoxicated.

“Eugene [Smucker] insisted it would be easier to deal with in the morning which is why he did not immediately call,” Bennett wrote. As for why he hadn’t reported the crash prior to the officer’s morning call, Smucker explained that it was because he’d left the grounds early, the affidavit says.

Although Bennett signed the document on April 17, the same day as his investigation, prosecutors didn’t file a charge until late May. Smucker made his first appearance in Park County Circuit Court on June 13 and was released on his own recognizance. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing roughly a week later, sending the case to district court for further proceedings.