Troop G Weekly Report 05/17/2021 - 05/23/2021

On 05/17/2021, Tr. Darcy, Cpl. Wells (Troop A) and Tr. Handzel (Troop A) conducted a LIDAR detail on the Turnpike in Kennebunk on shift. From 1630 until 1830, 17 vehicles were stopped at high speeds. The highest speed was 102 MPH.

On 05/22/2021, Sgt. Duda assisted South Portland PD with an intoxicated wrong way driver on I-295 southbound in South Portland.

On 05/22/2021, Cpl. Cote arrested David Thibodeau (62) of Rowley, MA for Operating Under the Influence and Failure to Stop for a Police Officer.

On 05/22/2021, Tr. Keim was traveling southbound around mile marker 13 when he noticed an orange car with front-end damage traveling northbound in the passing lane at an extremely high rate of speed.  Tr. Keim was able to clock the vehicle’s speed at 121 MPH in a posted 70 MPH zone before turning around in the crossover to proceed after the vehicle.  At approximately mile marker 20, Tr. Keim could see the vehicle ahead of him and observed it changing lanes without using a signal several times at extremely high rates of speed to pass cars in the other two lanes.  Between mile markers 29 and 31, Tr. Keim was able to get close enough to get another speed reading on the vehicle at 124-127 MPH.  Tr. Reaser was at mile marker 33 in Biddeford and was able to get a speed reading on the vehicle at over 100 MPH as it passed him.  The operator of the vehicle then saw Tr. Reaser and began to slow before eventually stopping.  Tr. Keim placed the male operator, Dayvone K. James (25) of Boston, MA, under arrest for criminal speed. Tr. Keim asked James why he was driving 127 MPH, and he stated that he did not realize that he was going that fast.

On 05/23/2021, Tr. Welch received a traffic complaint on a vehicle traveling northbound on the Turnpike in Gray. Tr. Welch located and stopped the vehicle for a registration violation. Upon further investigation the driver was operating after suspension and charged accordingly.

On 05/23/2021, at approximately 0409 hours, Tr. Vanadestine and Sgt. Wilkinson responded to a report of a vehicle fire. Eric Morris (65) of Portland fell asleep and drove off the roadway, striking the guardrail in the area of mile marker 1.5 southbound on the Turnpike in Kittery. Morris was operating a tractor trailer unit that was hauling bottles of Poland Spring Water. The TT unit rolled over into the center median guardrail before becoming fully engulfed. The operator was able to get out of the truck on his own accord. He was transported to Portsmouth Regional Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries for further evaluation. Maine State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit (CVEU), Kittery Police Department, Kittery Fire Department, and Stewarts Ambulance Service responded. All southbound lanes of the Turnpike from mile marker 7 in York were shut down for several hours. No other vehicles were involved.

On 05/23/2021, Tr. Keim stopped Barry Richardson (52) of Brooks, ME for traveling 106 MPH in a posted 70 MPH zone in Sabattus.

Cpl. Physic participated with Lewiston Middle School in their biography project.  For the project, students were to present their interpretations of community leader’s life story. A student interviewed Cpl. Physic and presented a biography about his life.