FARMINGTON, Maine — Police said a driver from Salem Township was arrested on a charge of driving after license suspension Friday afternoon after his Jeep struck a Farmington woman on Main Street.
Kenneth Murphy, 20, also wascharged with failure to yield to a pedestrian, Farmington police Officer Daryn Gilbert said.
Erin Ingraham, 18, of Farmington, a student at the University of Maine at Farmington, was in the crosswalk between McDonald’s and Gifford’s Ice Cream when she was struck just before 4 p.m., Gilbert said.
Murphy was attempting to turn right from Main to Front Street when his 2003 Jeep Cherokee hit Ingraham, the officer said. She was on the hood of the Jeep for about 20 feet before the vehicle stopped and she fell onto the street, he said.
Ingraham suffered cuts and bruises, but there were no broken bones, he said after talking with her at Franklin Memorial Hospital. She was expected to be released Friday night, he said.
“She was very lucky,” Gilbert said.
Ingraham was taken to the hospital by NorthStar ambulance.
Murphy said at the scene that he was distracted by activity on Main Street. Hippach Field was filled with cars for a ball game, Gifford’s had several customers and traffic was heavy as it usually is on a Friday, he said.
Selectman Ryan Morgan was driving by and saw the young woman lying in the road, so he pulled his truck over to block her from other motorists, he said at the scene.
Members of Farmington Fire and Rescue helped at the scene, along with Police Chief Jack Peck.
Murphy was taken to the Franklin County Detention Center and later released on $3,000 unsecured bail. He is scheduled to appear in court May 24.
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Guess Murphy’s first distraction was the fact that he should not have been driving, so the distraction on Main Street means nothing!
Maybe he was looking for the “po po” LOL He didn’t want to get caught…oops…I was hit in a cross walk too…but that was in Boston…Where nobody knows how to drive…:)
Jail time. No excuse. Driving is a privilege and not a right and when you lose it, you cannot drive.
Agreed, a driver who drives after suspension is ignoring the law just as they did to cause their license suspension. Clearly a case for jail time. As for hitting a pedestrian? Extra time should be included. This driver should not be behind the wheel. Not sure I’d even let him ride a bike at this point.
Except for those times when the state “forgets” to even tell someone their license is suspended….
Why certainly, however that was not mentioned so in light of the fact that this person hit a pedestrian due to distraction, I have no evidence to deduce he was not informed. All set now?
I’d also prefer to see Maine start impounding vehicles, as I mentioned elsewhere on the page. Once we start doing that, someone might think twice about driving while suspended, or loaning their vehicle to someone who shouldn’t be driving. It’s the only way to curb these problems. The current laws are not working.
This makes good sense. Take the weapon along with the privelege away, for misuse/abuse, and the violater has to use someone else’s vehicle which could also be impounded if he/she is caught and people might think twice about enabling. If we take away the right to drive, and take away the vehicle, they can only drive if someone enables them.
Agreed. I have long thought that impounds are the only way to curb the OUI and suspended driving epidemic in this state. If we take the vehicle permanently for drunk drivers, it would make Aunt Sallie think twice, before loaning the family to her nephew or niece with the suspended license.
Sometimes they can be so belligerent they will go out of their way to steal the keys or trick someone into loaning them a car.
Murphy’s Law?(sorry)
People driving on suspended licences seem to be terrible drivers.
You would think that if you’re driving with no licence or a suspended licence you’d be the safest most courteous, aware driver on the road.
had they been safe courteous and aware the first time, they would still have a license.
i do drive in the area alot. also in orono where there are alot of students. its still my job as a driver to pay attention. this is to snowflake
It still doesn’t make it safe for the students to just TAKE the right-of-way even if they have it, does it ?? No license, no insurance, but by gawd she got that right-of-way…
I think your all being a little hard on the kid, license or no license it was a accident! I think A big fine and 48 hours in jail is sufficient..
What if he’d killed the girl he injured, instead? He chose to drive, knowing he wasn’t legally allowed to do so. His license was already suspended for another violation. Why should he get a pass?
The first time, it’s a “dumb mistake.” The second time, having injured someone? Not so much.
I’m sure he has a lovely insurance policy also.
I didnt say a pass, I dont think prison time is due in this matter, or months in county jail! Accidents happen with or without a license..I know if he wasnt driving then this wouldnt of happened, he wasnt drunk or texting or speeding, It was an Accident!!!
so its ok he broke 2 laws and could have killed someone, but three laws is unacceptable. by the way if he has no license insurance will not cover this.so the victim also gets a nice hospital bill too. as for accident it never would have happen if he were not driving.
It also would of never happened if she wasnt walking that day! Thats not the point im making, Im saying it was a ACCIDENT!! They happen all the time! Im just saying everyone wants him to be locked up forever over a accident..C-mon
Nobody is suggesting he should be locked up forever. You, on the other hand, seem unable to accept he needs to be locked up at all. He made repeated bad choices, and he will pay the consequences for those bad choices. I hope he makes better ones, next time he is legally allowed to drive.
If he wasn’t driving on a suspended license, what you say might apply. However, that is not the case. Hopefully he will think twice about knowingly breaking the law in future. He’s lucky his “wake up” call didn’t involve a death, rather than the injuries to someone else.
Last time, he probably only got a six month suspension. This time, it will probably be a year, and maybe some jail time. Once he gets through paying the legal costs, insurance claims, and any lawsuit from the person he hit, he might figure out that hanging up the keys makes sense.
Another example of the need for Maine to start impounding the vehicles of repeat offenders. If his truck had been impounded for a year, he wouldn’t have been driving it, and the young lady wouldn’t be injured.
On a non-OUI violation conviction:
– Six months impound for the first offense, with all storage and other fees to be paid by the offender.
– Second offense, a year’s impound, same conditions on fees.
– Third offense, bye-bye vehicle.
For OUI violation convictions, I’d take the car the first time. It would likely be the last time.
The punishment was not enough! He didn’t care that his license was suspended, and drove anyway! He could have killed her, he is a criminal who doesn’t care about laws, end of story.
That spot is a very popular crossing spot in Farmington and it’s on a pretty busy corner. Students often cross it to get to Cumberland Farms, McDonalds, or Giffords, especially late at night. A cross walk or maybe a signal that a pedestrian can activate to alert oncoming traffic would be helpful.
Stupidity, drugs and blind spots don’t yield for pedestrians no matter how much jail time. Wait till cars stop or gesture that they see you, or you might have the dead right of way.
If a person drives after suspension then he/she should be sent to jail for the full term of the suspension. Maybe that will prevent the habitual offender. They don`t belong behind the wheel for one reason or another.
Jail time is about all that will keep them from driving.