TOWNSHIP 2 RANGE 8, Maine — A driver traveling south in the northbound lane of Interstate 95 between Medway and Lincoln recorded a blood alcohol level more than four times over the legal limit when he was pulled over late Tuesday afternoon, according to a statement on the Maine State Police’s Facebook page.
Roger O’Neal, 48, of Argyle was arrested and charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor and with violating his bail from a previous pending charge, according to the post.
At the time of his arrest, his blood-alcohol content was 0.34. The legal limit for operating a vehicle in Maine is 0.08.
As part of an agreement reached between the prosecutor and defense attorney, O’Neal pleaded guilty Wednesday to both charges during his first appearance at the Penobscot Judicial Center by video conference from the Penobscot County Jail. He also pleaded no contest to a domestic violence assault charge that stemmed from an Oct. 1 altercation with his wife.
District Court Judge Gregory Campbell accepted the plea agreement proposed by Michael Roberts, deputy district attorney for Penobscot County, and sentenced O’Neal to 10 days in jail. The judge also ordered O’Neal to pay a $750 fine on the OUI charge and a $300 fine on the assault charge.
O’Neal’s driver’s license was suspended for 150 days.
Roberts told Campbell that O’Neal had no criminal history prior to Oct. 1.
O’Neal told the judge through Dennis Hamrick, the Bangor attorney who represented O’Neal at Wednesday’s hearing, that he is unemployed.
Police said they received multiple calls around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday about a vehicle traveling south in the northbound lane of I-95 in Township 2 Range 8.
A trooper stopped O’Neal just north of exit 227.
Jonathan Kelley of CompetitorME was heading back to Presque Isle from Augusta, where he had just received an award from the Wellness Council of Maine for programs he’s run with The Aroostook Medical Center.
“We had just gone around a corner and could see down a hill that people in front of us were starting to pull over,” Kelley said Wednesday morning. “We thought someone had hit a moose, but then we saw a vehicle in the left lane. As we got closer, we saw headlights and then a hood and realized it was moving toward us.”
Kelley said the driver of his car quickly pulled over and, as soon as the southbound vehicle passed them, they called police to report it.
“It was just so surreal,” Kelley said. “You can see everyone in front of you is fine, and then you are worried about the people behind you. When we looked back, we could see drivers swerving out of the way.”
BDN writer Judy Harrison contributed to this report.
