FARMINGTON — A Rumford teen was drunk and speeding when he crashed his car in Weld on May 31, killing a Dixfield man, according to Maine State Police.
Ethyn Eric Buotte, 18, formerly of Dixfield, was arrested at his home Monday by state police Trooper Reid Bond on a felony charge of aggravated operating under the influence of alcohol and drugs resulting in death.
Griffyn Smith, 19, of Dixfield, a back-seat passenger in the 2005 Toyota Corolla, died at the scene on West Side Road at about 11:30 p.m. The car hit a tree and rolled over, according to a news release.
Bond said reconstruction specialist Michael Pion concluded that the car was traveling at 71 mph in a 35 mph zone when it crashed.
Buotte’s blood-alcohol content was 0.138 percent, according to the news release.
The legal limit for drivers under 21 is zero percent; for those 21 and older it’s 0.08 percent.
Smith was a 2016 graduate of Dirigo High School in Dixfield and a 2018 graduate of Central Maine Community College in Auburn. He was a four-time state wrestling champion in high school.
Buotte and 17-year-old Alysa St. Cyr of Dixfield suffered minor injuries, according to the news release.
Buotte was released from the Franklin County Detention Center in Farmington on Monday on $2,500 cash bail. He is scheduled to appear in a Farmington court Sept. 25, according to the Franklin County online booking log.
A conviction on the OUI charge carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000.
dperry@sunmediagrop.net
Ethyn Buotte
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