FORT FAIRFIELD, Maine — The Fort Fairfield police department responded to two single-vehicle crashes Friday on Limestone Road.
Both drivers escaped injury, but police charged them with operating under the influence.
At around 4:15 p.m., Nicholas Griffeth, 43, of Limestone crossed the centerline and crashed into trees on the west side of Limestone Road, totaling his 2022 Toyota Camry, said Officer Erick Bechtel.
A Van Buren school bus traveling at the same time witnessed erratic driving from Griffeth, police said.
After evaluation from Fort Fairfield Fire and Rescue personnel, Griffeth was found to be uninjured, but was arrested for suspected operating under the influence of drugs. He was transported to the Caribou Police Department for evaluation by a drug recognition expert, Bechtel said.
Police charged Griffeth with operating under the influence and unlawful possession of schedule W drugs.
Griffeth posted bail the following morning and is scheduled to appear at the Presque Isle Unified Court on March 8, 2023.
Later Friday, at around 10:10 p.m., Fort Fairfield officers responded to another crash of a 2015 Nissan pickup truck on Limestone Road, just south of the Aroostook River bridge.
Elizabeth Bear-Kinney, 39, of Houlton, lost control of her vehicle and struck a cement streetlight base, then crashed into a guardrail, Bechtel said. The 2015 Nissan pickup truck was severely damaged in the crash and was towed from the scene.
Kinney was uninjured in the crash but she was placed under arrest for suspected operating under the influence. She was transported to the Caribou Police Department, and testing revealed she was more than three times the legal limit for blood alcohol, Bechtel said.
Police charged her with operating under the influence of alcohol.
Kinney posted bail and is scheduled to appear at the Presque Isle Unified Court on Feb. 8, 2023.
Motorists should be mindful of other drivers on the roadway this holiday season, said Fort Fairfield Police Chief Matthew Cummings.
Anyone struggling with substance use in general may call Aroostook Mental Health Center at 1-800-244-6431 or the Maine Crisis Line at 1-888-568-1112, Cummings said.
FORT FAIRFIELD, Maine — December 16, 2022 — The totaled 2022 Toyota Camry driven by Nicholas Griffeth, who was later arrested for an OUI at the Caribou Police Department on Dec. 16. (Courtesy of the Fort Fairfield Police Department)
