FARMINGTON — A 17-year-old Eustis boy accused Wednesday of driving dangerously and causing thousands of dollars in damage was charged with failure to stop for police and damaging five vehicles Wednesday on Routes 4 and 27.
Franklin County Deputy Kevin Hartley charged the teenager, who has mental health issues, via summons on a felony charge of eluding an officer and a misdemeanor charge of driving to endanger, Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr. said Monday.
Farmington police charged the boy on a misdemeanor count of driving to endanger, police secretary Bonnie Pomeroy said.
Carrabassett Valley police also have a charge pending related to damaging two dirt driveways on Route 27 prior to heading toward Farmington, Carrabassett Deputy Chief Randy Walker said.
A conviction on the eluding charge carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Police from Franklin County agencies received complaints Wednesday of a pickup truck driving erratically, passing on the left and passing on the right, as it went down Route 27 from Eustis and onto Routes 4 and 27 toward downtown Farmington.
Hartley encountered the truck at Routes 27 and 4 in Farmington as his cruiser was almost hit head-on by it, Nichols said. Hartley turned and followed the vehicle into Farmington, where speeds of 75 mph in a 30-mph zone were recorded.
The driver lost control of the truck near the World War I monument and struck a fence, a tree, two SUVs and a pickup truck in a parking lot before it rolled over and hit a highway sign, propelling it through the windshield of another car, Nichols previously said.
The boy was taken to Franklin Memorial Hospital for medical and psychological evaluations.
A total estimate of damage was unavailable Monday, Farmington police Chief Jack Peck said.
dperry@sunmediagroup.net
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