RICHMOND, Maine — Police are investigating how a minor ended up in a roadside ditch after a Wednesday night gathering where minors were drinking alcohol.
Richmond Police Chief Scott MacMaster said police Sgt. Adam Garland was called to a home at 8:35 p.m., for a report of a 15-year-old male suffering a medical condition. The teen had been found unresponsive in a ditch along Front Street by a passer-by who returned him to his home.
His back was wet, his nose bloody and there were several scratches on his back. The teen’s mother called police, MacMaster said. The teen was taken to a hospital, where it was determined the teen was hypothermic and had a blood alcohol concentration above 0.25.
Police discovered the teen had been at a Hatch Street gathering where alcohol was being consumed by minors unsupervised by parents. A 17-year-old female was summoned for supplying alcohol to minors and for theft, for allegedly stealing the alcohol from an adult, MacMaster said. A 16-year-old male was summonsed for possession of alcohol. The hospitalized teen also would be summonsed, MacMaster said.
Police continue to investigate.
Alcohol should be kept locked up or in an area not accessible to youths, MacMaster said Thursday.
“This is just a reminder of how easily alcohol can be accessed and that we need to put those safeguards in place,” he said.