ASHLAND, Maine — The driver involved in a single-vehicle accident 15 months ago that claimed the life of his 33-year-old cousin will spend the next year in jail for his crimes in a plea deal accepted by both the state and the family of the victim.
Myles Bolstridge, 22, of Portage had a blood alcohol content of .10 at the time of the Nov. 6, 2013, crash that killed his cousin, Joey Clark of Ashland. The legal limit to drive in Maine is a .08 blood alcohol level.
He confirmed his plea of no contest Friday to aggravated criminal operating under the influence causing death, aggravated operating under the influence causing serious injury, and criminal speed, during a more than two-hour sentencing hearing in Aroostook County Superior Court in Caribou. The no contest pleas resulted in convictions on the criminal charges while still allowing him to contest the allegations in any subsequent civil case.
The hearing was attended by more than 13 members of the Clark and Bolstridge families.
Justice E. Allen Hunter, who sentenced Bolstridge, said that a number of members of the Clark family submitted “heartfelt, heartbreaking” victim impact statements to the court before the sentencing.
In total, the 22-year-old was sentenced to seven years in jail with all but 12 months suspended on the aggravated OUI causing death charge. He also was fined $2,100 on each of the three charges and ordered to serve 3 years probation after his release. In addition, his driver’s license will be suspended for 10 years
Provisions of his probation require Bolstridge not use drugs or alcohol and submit to random searches and testing.
At the request of members of Clark’s family, Hunter also ordered Bolstridge to perform 100 hours of community service, speaking to young people about drinking and driving and his situation.
Hunter also ruled that whenever Bolstridge speaks to a group, he has to invite a member of the Clark family through his probation officer to join him. A member of the Clark family instantly agreed to join Bolstridge “every step of the way.”
The original manslaughter charge was dismissed Friday.
Deputy District Attorney Carrie Linthicum said that Joey Clark was one of five passengers in the 2005 F250 pickup driven by Bolstridge the evening of Nov. 6, 2013, and all had been drinking. Linthicum said Bolstridge was speeding at 89 mph north on Route 11 because the group “was in a hurry to get to the store before it closed.”
Among the passengers were University of Maine at Presque Isle students Jessica Campbell and Taylor Cochran, both 20. Also in the car were Ashland-area residents Royce McDonald and Cote Levesque, both 21. Campbell was taken by ambulance from the scene and later transported to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. She returned to classes at UMPI approximately two weeks after the crash. Cochran was seriously injured. McDonald and Levesque were released after being treated at The Aroostook Medical Center in Presque Isle.
Ashland Police Sgt. Jared Carney investigated the crash.
Linthicum told Hunter Friday that “this was manslaughter, no question,” as a Maine State Police reconstructionist would have testified at trial that Bolstridge was driving 34 mph over the speed limit at the time of the crash. She said the passengers would have testified that they asked him to stop as he was speeding but he did not. The reconstructionist would have testified that after Bolstridge lost control of the truck it skidded 206 feet, hit a telephone pole and flipped and rolled another 93 feet, coming to rest in the woods.
Bolstridge has been free on personal recognizance bond since the accident.
Linthicum said he had no criminal history, except for a speeding ticket for going 15 mph under the limit, before the crash. She said that while his actions had been “too stupid for words,” she said she agreed to the sentence because she did not think he would offend again because if he did, he would have more prison time hanging over his head.
“And he killed his cousin,” she said. “If that does not rehabilitate him, I don’t know what will.”
Attorney Christopher Leger of Caribou characterized his client as a young man who turned 21 years old, was out and “decided to drink and drive.”
“He was a young man who made a grievous mistake,” he said. “He obviously is not going to be someone you will see in court again. Joey was not only one of his relatives, he was a close friend.”
Leger also said Bolstridge had been a firefighter and had steady work, and both his boss and his mother spoke on his behalf Friday.
An emotional Bolstridge also addressed the court.
“There is nothing I can do or say to change anything,” he said as he stood next to his attorney. “We were out having a good time and I thought I was invincible. I made a stupid, stupid mistake. I have totally withdrawn myself from my family because I am embarrassed and ashamed. I don’t go to family gatherings like Christmas or other functions because I know what I took from Joey’s family.”
Clark was the father of two boys and well known in the Ashland community. He owned and operated a trucking firm for several years and was an experienced mechanic and welder.
None of Clark’s relatives addressed the court, and they did not want their victim impact statements publicized.
Hunter said the letters were “painful to read” and reflected a “tidal wave of grief” that have enveloped the family since Clark was killed. Hunter said that Clark’s boys will “feel an incredible sense of loss as they grow,” and he would not be surprised if that sense of loss “grows instead of diminishes” as they age.
Hunter said it was at times difficult to decide on fair sentences in instances such as this when someone has died, but he said he was more agreeable to the plea deal in this case because the Clark family supported it.
Bolstridge was immediately taken into custody.