NORRIDGEWOCK, Maine — A 20-year-old woman was badly injured in a crash after attempting to elude police late last week, according to a member of the Maine State Police.
Katie White may be paralyzed from the waist down, Trooper Scott Duff said Wednesday.
According to the Kennebec Journal, White, who lives in Mercer, was driving a white pickup truck when the accident occurred.
Duff said he was on his way home from his shift after midnight Friday when he encountered a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction on Wilder Hill Road that was not in its own lane.
The trooper said he evaded the vehicle and then reversed direction to pursue and attempt to stop the driver. The driver, later identified as White, took off, Duff said.
White reportedly tried to pull into a driveway and overshot the turn, pulling her truck across a lawn and near a residence, before fleeing the vehicle on foot with a 33-year-old female passenger.
Duff tried to secure the vehicle by making sure the keys were removed from the ignition but said the truck did not need a key in the ignition to run.
The trooper returned to his cruiser to search for the fleeing pair but when he turned his attention from the vehicle, White reportedly ran back to the vehicle and took off in it. The passenger did not get back in the vehicle, Duff said.
White reportedly traveled back up Wilder Hill and past the town line into Smithfield, where pavement on the road ends. White lost control of the vehicle on the gravel road, careening off the left-hand side of the road. The truck hit a dirt pile at full speed and went airborne, clipping a telephone pole, Duff said.
The trooper said he had slowed his pursuit because of thick dust left in the wake of the fleeing driver and actually drove over some of the power lines knocked loose in the crash before realizing the situation.
When Duff reached the vehicle, he said White’s legs were pinned and she was unable to shut off the vehicle or get out of it, so he smashed out the driver’s-side window to shut off the vehicle as a fire started under the truck’s cab. Duff said he was able to put out the fire.
White allegedly wasn’t wearing a seat belt.
Rescue crews from Norridgewock and Smithfield soon arrived at the crash site and took White to a LifeFlight helicopter that arrived in Smithfield to take her to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.
Duff said White’s license was under suspension and alcohol was found inside the vehicle. A blood test performed on White is pending.
Evidence will be submitted to the district attorney, who will decide if charges will be filed in connection with the incident.
Too bad she may never walk again. All she had to do is stop.
hard to fix stupid, but hope she will walk also,
She did stop. She just chose to flee again sans passenger.
If it turns out she’s permanently paralyzed, that’s far worse punishment than anything the courts could give her. It just goes to show how stupid the old saying about sowing your wild oats is. This is what can happen to people who want to put off growing up for a few years. I really hope she’s not paralyzed.
More like reaping what you sow…
The good news is she didn’t possibly paralyze an innocent person and with that said I don’t feel bad for her at all. She choose her actions and is now paying for it.
The problem is that we will end up paying in the end. The tax payers will get the bill for the health care and disability for the rest of her life.
What if she was your daughter?
Not to speak for Kevin_Of_Bangor – but if she was MY daughter I would be upset at what had happened, but she also would be held responsible for her choices. It was her choice to drive with a suspended licence, her choice to (allegedly) be driving drunk, her choice to flee from the police… She is lucky she did not kill some one on her little run from the police.
Would you spank her? If she’s paralyzed, she won’t feel your hand but she would feel your judgement.
Glad you’re perfect. Congrats.
Wake the hell up, she broke the law and is paying for it. Yes it sucks what happened, but she yes she did it to herself!
Is your middle name also Perfect?
If it was my daughter I would feel like a complete failure as a parent.
If she was my daughter I would grieve her losses, and myself for the dreams I had for her. Letting people take the responsibility of their actions is the greatest lesson and gift we should give our children. Life is cruel and it’s up to us as parents to prepare them properly. Doesn’t mean I have no compassion for her. Are you one of the parents who would insist YOUR kid could never be guilty of anything? If so, you have done them a terrible disservice because life is not that way.
What if it was a child of yours who was killed by her because she was driving drunk?
Totally agree, I’m glad she didn’t take anyone else out with her stupid decision.
Hopefully she won’t be behind the wheel again
very unfortunate for her to go through this but she only has herself to blame now.
No one deserves to be paralyzed.
True! All she had to do is stop!
This is very sad news. My prayers went up for this young woman. Yes, her actions put her in this situation. Yet let’s assume she learned her lesson from this accident and show her some mercy.
She wasn’t showing mercy for anyone else that might have been on the road that night.
such a shame and so unnecessary
A sorry situation. I’m happy the ending wasn’t worse and hope she recovers.
they are submitting evidence to decide IF charges will be filed? Seriously? Sorry, but the fact that she’s paralyzed on account of her own stupidity and irresponsibility shouldn’t mean she gets a pass on the fact that she actually broke probably no less than 10 laws.
There should need to be a compelling reason for punitive action following a tragic incident like this. Usually it would be to show that there are consequences when one chooses not to follow the law. In this case, where no one else was hurt and the immediate consequences are obvious and severe, there is little to be gained by prosecuting her further.
She has done irreparable damage to her life as well as her family’s with her reckless lack of judgement and will pay a price greater than any prison sentence could inflict upon her. She started serving her sentence immediately and now she deserves compassion more than contempt.
Compelling reason for punitive action? The laws aren’t compelling enough?
Criminal law isn’t there to be enforced sometimes, or when someone feels like it. When you break laws and are caught there shouldn’t be any wiggle room.
Sure, she did irreparable damage to her life. She could have killed someone else. Someone’s mother or father, someone’s child. Just because she was lucky enough to ruin her own life instead of someone elses doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be held accountable to the same legal standard as everyone else.
The BS about she is already being punished by her injury and thus shouldn’t be held accountable is bogus. Nobody dealt her that hand. Those were her choices that created her reality. A harsher lesson than most get? Sure it is, especially at such a young age. Like everyone I wish nobody had been hurt including her. But that is life and if we start picking and choosing when the law is applicable, that is a very slippery slope that people need to be careful when walking down.
“tragic accidents” aren’t caused by someone driving when they are not supposed to and then running from the cops. This was ignorance, plain and simple.
I’m not saying she deserves what she got, but she caused the ENTIRE situation, so my sympathy for her is none.
Actually, Adirondacko07 wrote “tragic INCIDENT”, not “accident”. There are major differences in the definitions of those two words. Just sayin’.
You’ve got to be kidding! If she robbed a bank and in the process was wounded by the police and could never walk again she should never face any charges? I hope you are not a judge or ever inspire to be one. Posted on wrong commenter. This is directed to Adirondacker07 below.
life hands you choices. She chose her actions. end of story.
Could have been prevented if the officer disconneced the battery cables. Just because there wasn’t a key in the ignition is no excuse not to disarm the vehicle with the suspect still on the loose.
” 1 minute of pleasure can cost u a lifetime of pain”
How true that is in so many ways.
What a genius…20 years old…driving under suspension…on a booze cruise…drunk (yeah, the tests will confirm it)…driving in wrong lane…crashes…flees…comes back…speeds off…crashes again…
I’m not feeling a lot of remorse for her…as a matter of fact I’d be somewhat grateful if she doesn’t get on the road again…Sorry, I’m bad like that sometimes.
I agree with you. Why should we feel bad for her? Why? Cause she’s young? Cause she’s 20 and we all make mistakes? No, she’s an adult! I feel bad for us, as in tax payers, who will end up paying for her medical bills and other social benefits she’ll probably get for being a crippled. Thanks a lot White.
And how does this pertain to the article??? Be stupid some other place.
I minuet of stupid does all this..And more..Think people…you will never outrun a cop..ever..
You can outrun a cop, but it’s pretty hard to outrun a Motorola. :-)
Or the bear in the air…
________________________________
From: Disqus
To: rickerbass@yahoo.com
Sent: Thursday, January 5, 2012 10:19 AM
Subject: [bdn] Re: Woman may be paralyzed after police chase, crash in Norridgewock
Disqus generic email template
Todd Foster wrote, in response to tozort:
You can outrun a cop, but it’s pretty hard to outrun a Motorola. :-) Link to comment
Not even close to being “in charge” and I am no supporter of President Obama IVAmile2awkinYRshews.
Amen to Kevin_of_Bangor. This is why things are so messed up. The officer doing his job to serve and protect by taking dangerous people off the road. She chose to elude the officer and obviously was impaired in some manner..sometimes there ends up being consquences to our actions, so perhaps people should THINK more.
I bet that passenger is glad that they did not get back into the vehicle!
she was breaking the law, caused a policeman to put his life in danger, put others on the road in danger and now we, the taxpayers have to pay for her mistakes….something wrong with the system
by the way, hope it all works out for her and she can make a full recovery
“According to the Kennebec Journal, White, who lives in Mercer, was driving a white pickup truck when the accident occurred.” Extra points to the reporter for including useless information for the sake of irony. Funny how the keys shouldn’t shut off the truck until it was on fire. Hmmm
“Funny how the keys shouldn’t shut off the truck until it was on fire. Hmmm ”
Hmmm, one word “screwdriver”.
“Funny how the keys shouldn’t shut off the truck until it was on fire. Hmmm ”
++++++++++++++++
Hmmm, one word “screwdriver”.
*********************************************
vodka and orange juice?
Thanks for the chuckle.
nothing in the article about needing keys to shut off the vehicle. Pay attention.
No one wants to hold our young people accountable. It’s a tragedy for certain, and I know that most people on here will feel compassion for her, but our whole society needs to start holding our children accountable for their actions no matter whatever they may be. What’s a sad thing for sure, but I wonder if there may have been a different choice made if she was “practiced” in thinking about consequences of her behavior before she made choices. Too many parents run to their childrens defense and say “not my kid, they wouldn’t do that.” I’ve seen it too much.
I think most people on here will have compassion for this young woman. But still, she made her choice and must live with it. I believe our society as a whole needs to teach our children to be accountable and to take responsibilities for their actions. Perhaps if she had been more “practiced” in this she may have made a different choice. There is altogether too much of the belief that “my kid would never do that” by today’s parents. And sadly also, society must foot the bill for her care now too. And, of course, sad for her. It’s a tough lesson.
Charges should be filed, for at least the concept that she broke the law AND to prevent a later lawsuit about an illegal chase. It is terrible that she was injured so grievously and a jury or court can decide to suspend any sentence, given the circumstances of natural consequences. I feel bad for the young woman, as her life will be filled with much pain and loss, but the reality is she did choose to drink, drive, and evade the law. She should also be held accountable for any damage that her vehicle did to public property in the course of her flight. It is not fair that taxpayers should have to foot the bill for her poor choices.
Have any of you thought that Katie mit read this and see all these comments. How do you think it would make her or her family feel seeing the nagitve comments. We all do things we are not proud of but we don’t need to make her relive it. We should be posting well wishes to this young woman. Katie if you read this get well soon!!!!!!!