BANGOR, Maine — Several people on Interstate 95 called police last week to say a man in an old Dodge Intrepid was speeding and driving erratically on the highway without a front tire, Maine State Police Trooper Darren Vittum said Tuesday.
At the same time a woman driving a Jeep Liberty called police to say “she had been struck from behind by a vehicle that took off at a high rate of speed,” the trooper said.
The collision occurred near the junction of I-95 and I-395 and Vittum was just north of there when he got the call for help.
The gray 2000 Dodge Intrepid was smoking while Troy Stratton Jr., 28, of Bangor drove north toward Vittum, who caught up with him just before 8 p.m. Jan. 2.
“The passenger-side tire was gone,” the trooper said. “He was riding on the rim [and] there was a piece of the Jeep wedged in the door.”
Stratton’s “front fender, wheel assembly and front passenger door were all smashed in,” Vittum said, adding that he could smell alcohol on Stratton, who was given an Intoxilyzer test.
His blood alcohol level was “two times over the legal limit,” the trooper said. The state’s legal limit is 0.08.
Trooper Chris Hashey was called in to lead the accident investigation, Vittum said. The damage to the Jeep and that found on Stratton’s car “matched perfectly,” the trooper said.
Stratton was charged with operating under the influence, leaving the scene of a property damage accident and driving to endanger. He was taken to the Penobscot County Jail and later released, a jail official said.
People enough with the OUI already!
It’s a Jeep thing…he didn’t understand.
I feel silly with all the likes you got but I don’t understand. :(
It’s a “Jeepism”…….It’s a Jeep thing, you wouldn’t understand, or, Jeeps don’t leak, they just mark their territory (which I can attest to, I’ve owned 8 of the #$% things)…etc etc.
Lol, thanks for clarifying. :)
I thought they could not release the BAC level???
They didn’t release the actual BAC.
To quote from your own previous postings, JD, when discussing the intoxicated state trooper:
“If one reads only the BDN it would seem that is the case. But if one looks beyond the confines of Northern Maine and reads other papers, news outlets the truth comes out.The article found in the PPH ( http://www.pressherald.com/new… ) explains why his BAC was not released.”McCausland said state police do not reveal blood alcohol content or other investigative details before a case gets to court, regardless of the defendant.Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson, who said she handles most of the cases against law enforcement officers, cited the Criminal History Record Information Act to explain why authorities do not release information about blood alcohol content. The law says the state cannot disclose pre-conviction data, including investigative information.”The PPH article also has way more information and is more informative then what the BDN put together. Some how that is not a surprise. ”
Now, would you care once more to claim that the state trooper did NOT receive preferential treatment??
Be more than happy to. Neither person had a numeric number released. One had no number released in Cumberland County and one had a “twice the legal limit” statement released in Penobscot County. But in both cases, no numeric number was released.
And what does “twice the legal limit” mean exactly? 0.16 exactly or a figure higher or lower?
So was the state trouper twice the legal limit how about saying 1.5 times ? If he was .12 we did not see the ratio on the state trouper . Apparently they can release it but don’t . Like Gastia said” I can release the names in the greenleaf case but won’t”.
Apparently the State police follow their policy of not reporting”investigative details before a case gets to court, regardless of the defendant,” unless that defendant is a state trooper. That’s what I see. Reporting that someone is “twice the legal limit” tells us a whole lot more than saying nothing at all. At a minimum, it means someone is going to jail as opposed to just fines and license suspensions.
Assuming they are both first time offenders without aggravating factors 90 day suspension (in addition to the Secretary of State automatic suspension pending the outcome of the case) and a $400.00 is the worse case scenario they both face.
If there are aggravating factors (BAC of .15 percent or more, or traveling 30 m.p.h. or more over the
speed limit, or attempting to elude an officer of the law, or having a
passenger under 21 years of age) then add a 90 day suspension to the sentence.
I do feel the Trooper made an error in releasing even a hint of a BAC and we will never know if he was spoken to by his Lieutenant. But with the attention on the Maine SP I suspect he was or will be.
Wrong. NO matter what, each face a 90 day suspension at a minimum. If BAC of .15 or higher, then a mandatory jail sentence is required by statute. Check it out. Thus, we know the civilian is facing jail time, much more than we know about the trooper. You therefore agree that based on these facts, the intoxicated trooper was given preferential treatment.
xxskier, read my post again.
I said “Assuming they are both first time offenders without aggravating factors 90 day suspension (in addition to the Secretary of State automatic suspension pending the outcome of the case) and a $400.00 is the worse case scenario they both face.”
That is what a first time offender faces without “aggravating factors”. I listed those “aggravating factors” which are “BAC of .15 percent or more, or traveling 30 m.p.h. or more over the speed limit, or attempting to elude an officer of the law, or having a passenger under 21 years of age”.
You are making an assumption that the “civilian” is facing jail time because of the arresting Troopers statement without knowing the actual BAC.
Since you seem to like “assumptions” lets make one about the Trooper arrested for OUI. If his BAC was .15 or higher and facing jail time he would have been placed on unpaid administrative leave because of the jail time. So it logically follows that his BAC was less than .15.
In conclusion, I feel the “Trooper made an error in releasing even a hint of a BAC and we will never know if he was spoken to by his Lieutenant.”
And if you really wish to look at a State Police organization with REAL problems, look south to Massachusetts. They have had THREE Troopers arrested since the beginning of December for OUI, solicitating and extortion.
This happened 10 days ago?!
Not what can be called timely reporting.
Put him away before, next time he might kill someone…
People make mistakes and yes his was a very big mistake and someone could have been hurt badly and thank god no one was. But honestly you don’t know him. He realizes his mistakes and is fixing them and doing everything he can to ensure nothing like this happens again.
Another guy who will get a slap on the wrist and then go out and do it again…we will see him back in the papers.
You shouldn’t judge someone if you don’t know them. I personally know him and he is a wonderful person who made a very bad decision getting behind the wheel in his state, but people can learn from there mistakes and make positive changes. So until you see him in the PAPER again don’t assume.
Headline reads….Drunken Bangor Maine Hits Jeep on Highway. I was looking for an article about some drunk guy walking down the highway punching vehicles, stealing a rim, and riding away.
“If you can read this, find the Intrepid that flipped me over :( “
It’s a dodge, just follow the oil slick….Cheapest made vehicle out of the 3 big US car companies…
How do you do this?
Stratton was charged with operating under the influence, leaving the
scene of a property damage accident and driving to endanger. He was
taken to the Penobscot County Jail and later released.
If this were me, I’d be there still. This is why I don’t drink at all.
Them chrysler products are usually outstanding in their field,any field you drive by usually has one :) somehow this one escaped !
What were you thinking? I remember watching you laying in a hospital bed ten years ago from crap like this. You need to stop and think you could have killed someone!!
an online insurance company ranked Bangor Maine number 7 for the top 10 most dangerous cities to drive in the USA. This excluded Boston and New York, however this would bump Bangor up to #9.