HOULTON, Maine — The town will be without the services of its newest police vehicle following a two-vehicle crash Friday, June 10, on the Ludlow Road.
Houlton police Chief Joe McKenna was traveling west just before 5 p.m. in his town-issued police vehicle, a 2015 Ford F-150, when he met an all-terrain vehicle traveling east, which was in the travel lane and operating well above legal speed, according to a report on the crash by the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office.
“Chief McKenna reported pulling onto the right shoulder of the road and turned on his emergency lights,” Sheriff Darrell Crandall said Tuesday. “Chief McKenna said he checked his mirrors, did not see any vehicles coming behind him and initiated a U-turn to stop the ATV.”
At the same time, a 17-year-old, who was traveling behind McKenna in a 2001 Honda, reported seeing the emergency lights of the police vehicle as it pulled to the right side of the road.
“The young man said he believed he may have been speeding and thought the officer was going to let him pass and then stop him,” Crandall said. “Based upon that, the teen began to go around the police vehicle on the left. Chief McKenna, not see the approaching vehicle, began his U-turn. The vehicles collided in the eastbound lane, causing significant damage to both. Luckily, no one was injured.”
The chief contacted the sheriff’s office to report the crash.
“Most law enforcement agencies in Maine do not investigate vehicle crashes that involve their own vehicles and alternatively contact another agency to complete the investigation and crash report,” Crandall said. “This is done to avoid the perception of a conflict of interest.”
No charges were filed in the crash, and the juvenile driver’s name was not released.
McKenna reported that the operator of the ATV was looking back at him after he turned on his lights and that the ATV continued on without stopping. The operator of the ATV is described as a white male in his 30s, with a stocky build and dark hair. He was operating a red four-wheeler style ATV with a loud exhaust. If anyone knows the identity of the operator of the ATV, please contact the sheriff’s office at 532-3471.
The police vehicle was only recently added to the Houlton Police Department’s fleet and had just been equipped with new emergency lights and siren. Because the vehicle’s body is aluminum, no repair shops in Houlton are able to fix it, according to McKenna. Thus the vehicle will be sent to Glidden Auto Body of Brewer for repairs.