A Kennewick man who took his mother's pickup without her permission claims he crashed it into a tree outside Walmart while trying to drive and smoke.

Cody Allen Blackwell's driving privileges were suspended at the time of the early-morning Oct. 31 incident.

Blackwell, 23, pleaded guilty to second-degree taking a vehicle without permission, a felony, and hit-and-run with damage, a misdemeanor.

He was sentenced to two months in jail.

Kennewick police were dispatched to a hit-and-run at Kennewick's Walmart, with the caller saying a license plate had been left at the scene where a tree was damaged.

A 2008 Ford truck was found at Blackwell's home. Pieces of the tree were in the truck's undercarriage, tree bark was embedded in the front bumper and the front plate was missing, court documents said.

Blackwell admitted taking his mother's truck without her permission, court documents said.

She reportedly had not allowed Blackwell to drive her vehicle since his DUI conviction.

Police observed that Blackwell had "the odor of intoxicants coming from his person," but he told officers he only had consumed alcohol after getting home and didn't have a drink before driving.

The restitution amount that Blackwell must pay to his mother and to Walmart will be determined at another hearing.