WINSLOW — A newly licensed teenager was charged Tuesday with driving to endanger and issued a ticket, a day after the SUV he was driving veered off Garland Road and rolled over three times.

The vehicle was traveling nearly double the speed limit — 85 mph in a 45 mph zone, police said.

The two adults and three youths who were injured Monday all were taken to MaineGeneral Medical Center in Waterville. By Tuesday morning, they had been released, according to investigating officer Ron McGowen of the Winslow Police Department.

The 16-year-old driver, whose identity was withheld because of his age, was issued a $137 ticket by police for violating conditions of his intermediate license.

“He cannot have any passengers in the vehicle, other than immediate family members,” McGowen said. “None of the passengers were related to him.”

The 2005 Chevrolet Equinox was traveling south on Garland Road. A passer-by reported the accident at 3:37 p.m. Monday, police said. The vehicle was registered to the 16-year-old’s mother.

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The Equinox went over a knoll in the road and, because it was going nearly double the speed limit, it “went airborne,” McGowen said. As the vehicle landed and began to swerve, the driver saw another car coming the opposite direction and over-corrected the wheel.

The SUV went sideways off the road, smashed a mailbox, hit a ditch and rolled over three times before landing upright in a pasture, about 100 feet from the east side of the road. The vehicle was destroyed.

According to witnesses McGowen spoke with, all but one of the teenagers was ejected from the vehicle.

The driver admitted he was not wearing a seat belt, McGowen said. It’s unclear whether the passengers were wearing seat belts, he said, because he received conflicting statements from them and witnesses. Police initially said Monday that only one of them of them wearing a seat belt.

The two adult passengers were identified by police as Jacob York, 19, of Winslow and Tinecha Hallee, 20, of Winslow. The other two passengers were a 14-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy.

McGowen said the teenage driver obtained his driver’s license in February. He summonsed the teenager on a charge of driving to endanger because of the vehicle’s excessive speed and issued the ticket because the teen violated a restriction of his license.

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The teen is scheduled to be in Waterville District Court on June 21 for the summons charge.

Under state law, drivers must be at least 16 years old and have completed an approved driver-education course. Those under 21 are required to complete 35 hours of practice driving and hold an instruction permit for at least six months.

According to the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the first license issued to a new applicant under the age of 18 is an “intermediate” license, which places several restrictions on the driver. Intermediate license holders cannot carry passengers, except for immediate family, unless they’re accompanied by a licensed driver who is at least 20 years old and has held a valid license for the past two years. Other restrictions include a ban on driving between midnight and 5 a.m. and using a cell phone while driving.

Such drivers must hold an intermediate license for 180 days before receiving an unrestricted license. If an intermediate license driver is convicted of violating any of the restrictions, the restrictions will be extended for another 180 days from the date of the infraction, according to the bureau.


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