SMITHFIELD (AP) — Police are blaming speed and alcohol in the death of a 26-year-old Maine man who was killed in a single-vehicle crash about six hours after being charged with operating under the influence.
Police say Paul Caret of Oakland was killed at about 6:45 a.m. Saturday, when his car left a roadway in Smithfield, struck some rocks and hit a tree.
Chief Deputy Dale Lancaster of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department told the Morning Sentinel that Oakland police charged Caret with drunken driving about six hours before the crash. It was unclear if he was placed under arrest at the time.
Lancaster says speed and alcohol appear to have been factors in the fatal crash.
Send questions/comments to the editors.