The man accused of driving onto a Lincoln sidewalk and hitting a family of four looked like he was asleep at the steering wheel, witnesses told police.
Carl Hartley, 57, of Mattawamkeag is accused of driving into the family while under the influence of drugs around 3:20 p.m. Saturday at the intersection of Main Street and West Broadway in Lincoln during the town’s Loonfest.
He had his first appearance in Penobscot County court on Monday and is charged with one felony count each of aggravated criminal operating under the influence, driving to endanger, reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon and unlawful possession of methamphetamine.
Hartley did not enter a plea, which is standard in the first appearance for a felony case. The charges will be presented to a grand jury, which will decide whether or not to indict.
A 29-year-old man shoved his 5-year-old child and 3-month-old child out of the way of the vehicle, he told police. His wife, 24, was pinned under the vehicle and suffered serious injuries.
Hartley was stopped at a light and the car behind him honked to get his attention because it looked like the driver was sleeping, people in that second car told police, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in court. The vehicle then went through the T-shaped intersection and “hopped up on the curb,” hitting the family, according to the affidavit.
Another witness told police Hartley had a red light when he drove through the intersection, the affidavit said.
Assistant District Attorney Alice Clifford did not provide an update on the woman’s health status.
No testing has been done to determine it was methamphetamine, instead it appears it was a police officer concluding it was methamphetamine, Hartley’s attorney Gregory LeClerc said. Police did get a search warrant to test Hartley’s blood.
Hartley has a “lengthy” criminal history, Clifford said. She outlined charges starting in 1987 with a burglary conviction, as well as domestic violence and felony assault. There were at least 30 cases in Hartley’s criminal history.
He was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison for aggravated assault, with all but two years suspended, Mattson said. It is also Hartley’s fourth operating under the influence charge, Mattson said.
Hartley was granted a $10,000 cash bail and remains in the Penobscot County Jail. He is scheduled for a status conference Nov. 24.