NAPLES, Maine — A 66-year-old Casco woman was arrested Friday night, accused by police of driving drunk and causing multiple crashes, including striking a house.
Barbara J. Thorpe was arrested by deputies from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office shortly after 8:30 p.m. on Route 302 and charged with operating under the influence and leaving the scene of a property damage crash, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
The county’s communication center had received several 911 calls of a vehicle operating on the wrong side of Route 302 while heading east in Naples. In less than two minutes, subsequent calls were received reporting three separate motor vehicle crashes. One vehicle reported being side-swiped as it was crossing the Naples Causeway bridge.
Moments later, a second vehicle about one mile away reported being struck by a vehicle in the wrong lane. The offending vehicle then careened off the road and struck a home at the intersection of Songo School Road.
Sheriff’s deputies investigated the crashes and determined that they were all related and caused by the same 2011 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck driven by Thorpe. She was alone in her vehicle, police said.
No one was injured in the crashes. The first vehicle struck on the Naples Causeway bridge was occupied by a woman and two 14-year-old girls. The second vehicle struck was occupied by one woman.
The home was occupied at the time of the crash.
Thorpe was taken to the Cumberland County Jail. She was released overnight after posting $200 cash, and she is scheduled to appear in Bridgton District Court on Dec. 16.