MILLINOCKET, Maine — Town Councilor Gilda Stratton was issued a summons for drunken driving Tuesday after police found her car abandoned in a snowbank on Central Street.
Stratton, 69, was cited for operating a motor vehicle under the influence, police Chief Steve Kenyon said Thursday. Officer David Cram was dispatched to a Pontiac sedan in a snowbank at Central Street and Medway Road at about 2:55 p.m. Tuesday. Cram traced the empty vehicle to Stratton and found her at her home on Congress Street about a half-mile from the crash scene shortly thereafter, Kenyon said.
A Breathalyzer test performed on Stratton at the police station revealed she had a blood-alcohol level of 0.16, which is twice the legal limit of 0.08, according to Kenyon, who described Stratton as cooperative with investigators.
“She was very upset with the situation, obviously,” Kenyon said.
When reached at home Thursday, Stratton denied driving while intoxicated or doing anything else wrong.
“I drank when I got home. I was a nervous wreck,” Stratton said. “Wouldn’t you if you just ran into a snowbank? I was a wreck. I am still a wreck.”
Stratton said she was driving home from performing errands out of town when the crash occurred.
A witness told police that he gave Stratton a ride home after the crash because she complained that she was cold, Kenyon said.
Summonses, Kenyon said, typically are issued in such cases. Stratton did not have to post a bail because Millinocket currently lacks certified bail commissioners. A communication problem with the three commissioners who work in Millinocket and the state court system over classes the commissioners were supposed to take has left them decertified, a situation the state hopes to correct later this month, Kenyon said.
A check with the Maine State Bureau of Identification on Thursday revealed that Stratton has no prior criminal record.
Stratton and Council Chairman Richard Angotti Jr. said she remains on the town council.
A retired paralegal secretary and former Great Northern Paper Co. administrative assistant, her three-year term expires in November 2017. She was first elected to the council in November 2011.
Stratton is due in Millinocket District Court on March 9, Kenyon said.