FARMINGTON — A Franklin County justice Monday set bail at $75,000 cash for the man accused of hitting a Wilton woman with his vehicle on Routes 2 and 4 and killing her Jan. 1.
Tommy Clark, 25, of Industry, faces a felony Class B charge of aggravated criminal driving under the influence and a felony Class C charge of leaving the scene of an accident involving serious bodily injury or death.
On Monday, police positively identified Taylor Gaboury, 21, of East Wilton as the woman walking east along what is also known as Wilton Road about 1:40 a.m. Friday near Franklin Memorial Hospital. An autopsy report said significant head trauma caused her near instantaneous death, according to a court affidavit.
According to a police affidavit, Clark admitted to police that “after the crash he went down the embankment to the victim, tried to wake her up and concluded she was deceased.” He left the scene because he was nervous and needed a lighter, the affidavit said.
Assistant District Attorney Joshua Robbins requested Justice Lance Walker set bail conditions to include no use of alcohol, random searches by police, no visiting establishments whose primary purpose is to sell alcohol and no contact with two witnesses.
Robbins asked for the large cash bail because of concerns that Clark stopped his vehicle, went to check on the girl he struck, and then got back into his vehicle to drive to the Colonial Valley Motel. He left the witnesses behind near Webber Insurance Agency. They called for help but tried to mislead police, he said.
Clark was in a different vehicle at the motel when police found him, Robbins said.
The alcohol issue poses a safety concern for the public, and his mother lives in Oregon, Robbins said of the potential for Clark to pose as a flight risk.
Christopher Berryment, who was appointed Clark’s attorney for the day, asked for $1,000 bail. He said Clark has lived in Maine for five years and worked steadily for the same company for two years. As for the alcohol concern, the bail conditions allow a police check, he said.
Clark was driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or more, according to the affidavit.
In Maine, a driver is considered operating while under the influence if they have a blood-alcohol concentration of more than 0.08 percent.
When Farmington police Sgt. Edward Hastings, Officer Michael Lyman and Franklin County Deputy Andrew Morgan arrived at the scene, they found Gaboury down over an embankment, unresponsive.
The witnesses first told police they were returning to the Colonial Valley Motel from a party on Livermore Falls Road. They said they noticed the body down the embankment after seeing a boot in the road, according to the affidavit.
A side mirror of a maroon-colored vehicle and other car parts were also found.
Police gave the witnesses a ride to the motel but questioned what they had said, according to court documents.
Lyman went back to the motel and found a maroon 2015 Dodge Dart near the room where the two women were staying. The vehicle was missing a passenger side mirror and had other damage.
Clark was sitting in a Dodge Intrepid, owned by one of the witnesses, parked next to the Dodge Dart. He told police he was driving his Dodge Dart when it struck something but he was not sure what it was.
Police noticed he appeared intoxicated and took him to Franklin Memorial Hospital for testing. When police asked him if had had too much to drink, he responded “that is a very good possibility,” according to the affidavit.
Through more questioning, police learned the witnesses were also riding in Clark’s vehicle. They had all been at a Farmington bar but returned to the motel about 1 a.m. They left to go view Christmas decorations in Wilton. On the way back, Gaboury, who was walking in dark clothing, was struck.
Further investigation revealed Clark was “very much aware of the fact he struck a person,” the affidavit said. He admitted going down the embankment, trying to wake Gaboury and determined she was dead. He left because he was nervous and needed a lighter, the affidavit said.
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