LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Police in Oldham County made an arrest in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash near Buckner on Christmas Day.

According to court documents, 58-year-old Gerald Rath, of La Grange, was arrested by officers with the Oldham County Police Department just before 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Police said the crash happened just after 6:15 p.m. in the 6100 block of West Kentucky Highway 146, near Interstate 71. Police said they found 60-year-old Gage Thurman unresponsive and off the roadway with head trauma. He died at the scene.

The vehicle that hit Thurman left the scene.

Investigators originally believed Thurman may have been hit by a Ford pickup truck, which was either red or dark in color, but now say it was a gray SUV after reviewing images from a surveillance camera.

But according to court documents, police eventually determined that the vehicle was actually a Jeep Cherokee owned by Rath. Police said Rath's vehicle sustained damage to the front passenger side, and that damage matches the debris found on the scene.

When confronted by police, Rath allegedly told officers that he hit a deer sometime around 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. Christmas Day on Kentucky 146 in Crestwood. Police said he told them several times it was a deer, and that he went back to look for the deer several times but could not find it.

Rath allegedly gave officers permission to examine his vehicle.

"Detectives found damage that is consistent with the debris that was found," an arrest report states. "The vehicle also matches the vehicle that can be seen on security video. The vehicle has a noticeable yellow Iowa Hawkeyes sticker on the driver's door that can be seen on the video."

SUV suspected in Oldham County hit and run

Pictured: this undated image provided by the Oldham County Police Department shows an SUV seen driving away from the scene of a hit-and-run crash that killed a 60-year-old man near Buckner, Ky., on Dec. 25, 2022. 

Police said Rath admitted to cleaning the vehicle and removing parts from it.

He was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an accident or failure to render aid or assistance in a crash involving death or serious physical injury, as well as tampering with physical evidence.

He is currently being held in the Oldham County Detention Center.

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