PARIS — Police said a local man is charged with reckless conduct after he swerved his vehicle toward a teenage bicyclist on Paris Hill Road on Saturday.

Paul Ventrice, 57, of High Street, was read charges of felony reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon and driving to endanger, a misdemeanor, in Oxford County court Monday afternoon.

According to an affidavit by Paris Police Department officer William Grover, a female witness said the 17-year-old boy was talking to her near the former headquarters of the Paris Utility District at 1 Paris Hill Road when a vehicle came down Paris Hill Road at a high rate of speed, veered off the road, did several donuts on the PUD lawn and headed toward them.

The bicyclist fled onto a trail and the driver raced up and down Paris Hill Road for several minutes before making threatening remarks and leaving, the affidavit said. 

The bicyclist later told police that Ventrice struck his bike, leaving him fearful for his life. Tire marks showed the bike and SUV came within at least 10 feet of each other, though the bike showed little sign of damage, Grover said.

According to the affidavit, Ventrice denied the accusations and told police the bicyclist was swerving back and forth in the road ahead of him and he swerved off the road toward him “to show him I was pissed.” 

Bail was set at $1,000 cash, $10,000 surety or a contract with Maine Pretrial Services. 

ccrosby@sunjournal.com

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