MMA student allegedly crashes truck twice minutes apart

CASTINE, Maine — A Maine Maritime Academy student who allegedly crashed his truck twice in a span of a few minutes is one of several MMA students accused of committing alcohol-related offenses last week, according to police.

Another MMA student is accused of drunken driving while on his way to serve security duty on the school’s training ship, the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department indicated Monday.

The sheriff’s department was conducting an alcohol enforcement detail in Castine on Nov. 1 when the four incidents occurred.

Christopher Falla, 20, of Beaver Cove was driving a 2000 Ford Ranger pickup truck around 11:40 p.m. Nov. 1 when he crashed the truck at the intersection of Pleasant Street and Battle Avenue, Hancock County Deputy Sheriff Robert Morang wrote in a summary of the incident.

According to Morang, Falla was “very intoxicated” when he made a left turn from Pleasant Street onto Battle Avenue and lost control of the vehicle, striking a building, a sign and a parked van. Falla then continued onto Route 166 for a couple of miles until, approximately two minutes later, the truck crossed the roadway, went off the pavement and struck several rocks and trees, Morang said.

Falla suffered some minor cuts in the accidents, both of which occurred in Castine, and the truck sustained an estimated $5,000 worth of damage to its front end, Morang wrote in the summary. The results of blood alcohol tests and charges are pending, he indicated.

Scott Alexander, 24, of Bridgton was driving to the school’s waterfront facilities after he allegedly had been drinking when he came to the attention of officers involved in the Nov. 1 detail. He was on his way to his assigned security watch on the MMA training ship State of Maine when he was arrested on a charge of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

Further details about the alleged offense were unavailable Monday morning.

Two other MMA students were charged with alleged crimes on Nov. 1 after being stopped by officers in the alcohol enforcement detail.

Nicholas George, 20, of Bangor was charged with with illegal transportation of liquor by a minor and operator allowing a passenger to possess an open container on a public way. Cameron Murphy, 20, of Portland was charged with illegal transportation of liquor by a minor.

Follow BDN reporter Bill Trotter on Twitter at @billtrotter.