A Portland man is accused of skidding nearly 60 feet during a turn he took at 45 mph in Acadia National Park while drinking and driving.
Cadin Lunt pleaded not guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court of Maine in Bangor to one count each of operating a motor vehicle under the influence, failure to maintain control of a vehicle, unsafe operating a motor vehicle without due care, carrying an open bottle and moving a motor vehicle involved in an accident.
Lunt’s attorney, James Nixon, declined to comment. He also declined to share his client’s age, which is redacted in court records.
A hit-and-run happened in the St. Sauveur parking lot around 3:30 p.m., July 3, according to a probable cause statement from a park ranger. Lunt allegedly admitted to drinking before and while driving his car. Lunt also said he had an open container of alcohol in the center console.
Lunt told the ranger he was making a turn into the parking lot at 45 mph which caused his tires to squeal and he skidded across the driveway before hitting a tree stump, according to court records.
He left about 57 feet of tire marks on the pavement and adjacent dirt before hitting the tree stump, the probable cause statement said.
Lunt then rapidly accelerated backwards into a parked car, before he “screamed out of the lot,” witnesses told the ranger.