TOWNSHIP 10, Maine — A woman who was rescued with her two young children from Fox Pond in Hancock County Saturday has been charged with operating a motor vehicle after suspension of her license.
Troopers said 38-year-old Mandi Parker of Jonesboro was returning from Bangor’s methadone clinic Saturday, according to police. Parker, whose license has been suspended for 10 years, was driving along Route 182 near Fox Pond with her two children when she failed to negotiate a sharp curve. Her car went over a bank and into the 48-degree water, where it swiftly sank.
Parker had a suspended driver’s license and allegedly had been drinking alcohol, police said. Additional charges could be filed after troopers complete their investigation.
Parker and her two children, 2-month-old Tanner Kjenstad and 3-year-old Georgia Parker, were rescued by Leonard and Rosemary Wallace of Steuben, who had been fishing at the pond Saturday.
The state troopers who responded noted that Fox Pond is in a remote part of Hancock County where there is no cellphone reception and that the car landed in such a way that it would not have been visible to passing motorists.
After the three were treated and released from the hospital, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services took custody of the two children.
Parker does have a record of violations in Maine with various misdemeanor infractions dating back to 1997 and into 2007, including operating while under the influence, possession of drugs, theft and forgery, according to a criminal history obtained from the State Bureau of Identification.
Parker’s driver’s license also has been suspended repeatedly starting in 1999 and, in 2006, it was suspended “indefinitely.” In order to get her license back, Parker would have to pay $450 in court fines, according to the Maine Department of Motor Vehicles.