A late night joyride with an unlicensed driver behind the wheel preceded a fatal crash in central Maine that killed three youths and injured two others, police said Tuesday.
Police are investigating the Sunday morning Clinton crash, which killed Thomas Porfirio, 15; Emily Baker, 14; and Ashlin Baker, 12, all of Clinton. The crash also injured Nevaeh Wilson, 12, of Clinton and the 16-year-old driver, who police have not yet named beyond saying he is also from Clinton.
It appears “they were just kind of out for a joyride, horsing around like kids do,” said Cpl. Phil DiLuca of the Clinton Police Department.
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No charges have been filed in the case, but the police department is consulting with the district attorney’s office, DiLuca said. Alcohol did not appear to be a factor, he added.
The police are working with local residents who have provided information to try to reconstruct a 24-hour timeline of events that ended in the crash, DiLuca said. At least one of the youths in the vehicle was not wearing a seatbelt, he said.
DiLuca said the driver has been released from a hospital, but Wilson had not been released as of Tuesday morning.