BELFAST, Maine — For the second time in a year, an allegedly intoxicated driver has destroyed the antique water pump station that sits at the sharp turn at the intersection of Head of the Tide Road and Route 7 in Belfast.
Clifford L. Young, 40, of Brooks failed to negotiate the turn at about 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9, and a neighbor called police to report the crash, according to Detective Sgt. Bryan Cunningham of the Belfast Police Department. Young was taken to Waldo County General Hospital to be treated for his injuries, and his red Kia sport utility vehicle appeared to be wrecked, Cunningham said. After Young was released from the hospital, police issued him summonses for operating under the influence with one prior conviction, operating after suspension and violations of conditions of release.
Cunningham said Young pleaded guilty to two prior OUI charges at the end of August and legally should not have been behind the wheel. According to police, it will be up to Belfast city officials to decide what to do about the wrecked pump station.
Last November, a Florida driver was charged with operating under the influence after he drove into the antique water pump station late one night. The old covered well was no longer functional, police said then, but served as something of a neighborhood centerpiece. It cost $1,737 to replace the city-owned pump station in May, Cunningham said.
Neighbor Jay Richards, who reported the crash to the police, said he thinks the corner is too dangerous and has posed problems at his house, too.
“I’ve lost a vehicle here in the past parked in my driveway with a drunk hit and run,” he said Tuesday. “I think the state needs to put flashing lights here or change the speed limit or both.”