Karma bit a Helena teen on the leg early Thursday morning.

Nathan Robert Earley, 19, allegedly stole a truck and went out for a night of boozing. Earley then stopped at a Helena gas station and attempted to fuel up the 2003 Chevy Avalanche, only to run himself over with the rig after inadvertently putting it in reverse.

Dave Clemens, owner of Dave's Express Lube and Oil gas and convenience store, gave the play-by-play while watching the surveillance video of Earley's 4:45 a.m. misadventures. To see the video footage, go to this story online at www.helenair.com.

"He gets out, slips and falls under the vehicle as the driver's side door slams into the gas pump. Then he gets up and runs after the vehicle, which is now lodged in a ditch," Clemens said.

Earley then tries, unsuccessfully, to free the stolen truck.

"He left the scene running right out of his flip flops and hat, which were later located at the scene," Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Cheryl Liedle said.

The truck was left running, with its lights on in the ditch, Clemens said.

Earley sped barefooted across the Montana Avenue gas station and was found by deputies a few hours later sleeping in some bushes under a tree in his backyard on nearby Mills Road, Liedle said. Earley sustained minor injuries and refused medical treatment, she added.

Deputies booked Earley on a felony charge of theft of motor vehicles for the truck, which was taken from a garage on Lydia Road on Wednesday night. He also was charged with possession of dangerous drugs (marijuana), underage possession of alcohol, driving under the influence, driving with a suspended driver's license, leaving the scene of an accident and failing to set a parking brake, all misdemeanors.

Earley blew a .165, twice the legal limit, on a portable breath machine, according to documents filed in Justice Court Thursday.

"The defendant stated he was too intoxicated to remember much of the evening," court documents said.

Earley was set to appear in Justice Court on Thursday afternoon but was still too drunk, Liedle said.

Another charge Earley faces is a probation and parole violation, which Liedle said may be a felony. He was released from Lewis and Clark County Detention Center on July 19 after an arrest for felony burglary, for which he received a three-year deferred imposition of sentence.

The diesel pump at the gas station was shut down for repairs Thursday. About $1,000 worth of damage was done to the interior and exterior of the pump, which was leaking after the incident, Clemens said.

Reporter Angela Brandt: 447-4078 or angela.brandt@helenair.com