AMBOY – Several homes were evacuated Sunday night after a pickup truck driver hit a gas line and drove off.

Deputies were called about 9 p.m. to a neighborhood on Shaw and Lee Center roads after residents noticed a strong smell of natural gas. They told deputies they saw the driver hit an above-ground gas pipe between a group of houses, then drive off, Lee County Sheriff John Varga said Monday.

Deputies found the truck, which had a damaged tire, about a quarter-mile away on Sterling Road. They have identified the owner and are trying to make contact with him, said Varga, who declined to name him.