Portland man tells police he hit 80 mph before driving into pond

BRUNSWICK, Maine — A 34-year-old Portland man was charged Friday with driving to endanger after driving his Volkswagen into a pond at the Mere Creek Golf Club.

Brunswick police were called to the former Navy golf course at Brunswick Landing by a towing company and found the driver, Brian M. Mills, had already left the scene, Brunswick police Sgt. Jon O’Connor said.

Mills’ Volkswagen R32 was partially submerged in the pond. The tow truck driver reportedly told police that Mills called them directly and said he was leaving but would meet them elsewhere.

Police located Mills about 30 minutes later and charged him with driving to endanger, failure to notify police of a motor vehicle crash and failure to make an oral or written crash report.

“His excuse was, he passed another vehicle that was going too slow,” O’Connor said. “He estimated his own speed to be approximately 80 mph.”