CARIBOU, Maine — A Mars Hill man who allegedly was under the influence of alcohol and caused a fatal car crash six months ago has been indicted on multiple charges by the Aroostook County grand jury.
State police Sgt. Brian Harris said Tuesday evening that William Barton, 51, was indicted on charges of operating under the influence causing death and operating under the influence causing serious bodily injury, along with possession of methamphetamine.
The accident took place Sept. 3 on U.S. Route 1 in Mars Hill.
Jerome York, 21, of Medway was northbound on the road when his 2001 Chrysler wagon collided head-on with a 2010 Ford pickup driven by Barton.
York’s father, 51-year-old Nathan York of Medway, a passenger in the wagon, died at the scene.
Herb Young, 52, another passenger, suffered significant injuries. He is Jerome York’s uncle.
All of the occupants of both vehicles were wearing seat belts.
Jerome York and Barton escaped serious injury.
Barton was charged on Sept. 4 with operating under the influence and possession of methamphetamine.
A court date will be set at a later date.
Another qaulity person from Mars Hills….We used to say they had more churches there then people problem was they were never full. For such a small town there is a lot of heavy drug users there.
The area doesn’t make the people what they are; the people make the area what it is……….drugs however, are very prevalent in all of Maine and do take control of the people who chose to use them.
Not to be rude or anything, but obviously you don’t know that much about the area, its pronounced “Mars Hill”. Not denying there is a drug problem in the county, but I hear Bangor has one too, just saying.
Drinking and driving is no accident. It is a deliberate act.
Please come and help raise awareness about the effects of drugged and drunk driving by participating in the unofficial WalkLikeMADD event in Houlton on April 14, 2012 at 2:00 pm at the Houlton High School parking lot. All are welcome! https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/407534302595308/
Any and all MADD events are vital and of great importance to the welfare of societies and communities. But I think we all know that attendees are citizens who already care, are conscientious and well aware of the mayhem and carnage that happens on our highways from drunk and drugged-up people behind the wheel.
The drunks and druggies of any given USA town or city will not be interested in attending MADD events. When these “types” exhaust all punitive measures that the law can and does apply, especially to habitual offenders, these dregs of society still grab the keys to any car available and or get behind the wheel of any car they find with a key in the ignition. The right to life of others around them is never on their radar.
So unless we are with MADD 100%, we are drunks or druggies? What a broad brush to use for painting. I don’t support the current MADD efforts, not because I am a drunk or druggie like you allege, but because they are becoming a witch hunting org. Drunk driving is still a problem, and there are no “accidents” caused by drunk driving. Willful driving while drunk is not an accident. Here’s my take, and I almost never agree with Fox anything.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,171383,00.html
Even the founder of MADD left the group because of their narrow mindedness. Their mission has also lost focus as they became just another lobbying organization.
http://activistcash.com/organization_overview.cfm/o/17-mothers-against-drunk-driving
So unless we are with MADD 100%, we are drunks or druggies?
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NO…..nowhere in my comment have I indicated that if someone is not with MADD 100%…they must be a drunk or druggie or both. I thought it was pretty clear that I was talking about the habitual offender.
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Statistics reveal that during those times of the year that people are more apt to drink than at other times, highway law enforcement is stepped up and the majority of drunken driving arrests involve “social drinkers.” Hard-core alcoholics make a point of staying off the roads during the long week-ends (Xmas Eve, New Years Eve, 4th of July et al) when social drinkers drink too much and still think they can drive.
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You and I disagree on your theory that the occasional social drinker who has drank more than usual and then gets behind the wheel are not apt to cause accidents. They are more prone to causing highway accidents because they aren’t accustomed to driving drunk. In my “younger days”, when I used to drink too much (on certain occasions) the more I drank the more I was convinced I could still drive. That’s because reason, caution, and inhibitions is the first part of the brain that alcohol affects. I wouldn’t describe it as willful driving. Because my reasoning was so compromised by the alcohol, I was falsely convinced that I could drive just fine.
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Thanks for the fox link for the update on MADD. It’s been so long since I paid attention to MADD’s mission that I hadn’t realized how their purpose and goals had changed.
While I want to go outside and shout this from my front porch… I find it long over due. There is no reason that Nate’s family should have had to wait this long to see one tiny step in the long battle ahead. Nothing will bring Nate back, and his friends, family and co-workers miss him terribly. But, the pain is compounded by the fact that this step should have been done back in September!