WINSLOW — The Police Department may add extra precautionary measures and manpower to make sure everyone gets home safe from the annual Fourth of July fireworks celebration at Fort Halifax Park after authorities said a belligerent motorist on Saturday night hit a man in a wheelchair and nearly sped into a crowd of people leaving the event.

Daryl Pratt, 80, of High Street, Oakland, was charged with criminal threatening, assault with a dangerous weapon and assault linked to Saturday’s incident. According to police, Pratt physically resisted officers and suffered a broken arm when they dragged him out of his vehicle after he refused to get out.

Winslow Police Chief Shawn O’Leary said Tuesday that the incident was extremely dangerous and could have resulted in a serious tragedy had Pratt not been stopped. Police said Pratt tried to drive out of the area when he hit a person in a wheelchair about 9:46 p.m., as the street was crowded with people trying to leave the fireworks display at the park.

The Police Department plans to hold a debriefing about the incident this week and determine whether any extra measures need to be taken, such as having more officers to keep an eye on the crowd of pedestrians and portable lights to increase visibility in the area, O’Leary said.

The fireworks show at the Winslow Family 4th of July Celebration attracted thousands of people from across central Maine.

Kevin Douglass, the chairman of the committee that organizes the event, said Tuesday he was glad no one was hurt during the incident. Nothing like this had ever happened at the Winslow festival, he said.

Douglass said more traffic barricades set up around Fort Halifax and the VIP Tires & Service shop on Bay Street could help make sure drivers don’t try to leave before pedestrians clear the area. Barriers that police typically place on the Sebasticook Bridge also were not set up on Saturday, Douglass said.

Police typically close off a section of Bay Street, which is U.S. Route 201, near Fort Halifax Park during the fireworks display so people can set up on the street and get a good view without cramming themselves into the park itself.

Police wait until the pedestrian traffic has cleared to reopen the road, O’Leary said. Before the end of the fireworks, however, officers leave the park area to direct traffic at major intersections nearby. That means no officers are keeping an eye on the crush of pedestrians, and in past years there have been reports of criminal mischief and fights when that happens.

“We’re going to need more police officers” next year to direct traffic and monitor the flood of pedestrians, O’Leary said.

On Saturday, Pratt was evidently parked somewhere along the closed portion of the road and was trying to drive through the “shoulder to shoulder” crowd, according to O’Leary. Pratt, driving a four-door sedan, allegedly struck a man in a wheelchair on the Sebasticook Bridge before stopping. He quickly became belligerent and confrontational with officers who asked him for his license and registration. The man in the wheelchair reportedly was uninjured in the crash.

“He went ballistic,” O’Leary said, adding that Pratt did not appear to be intoxicated but was “very verbally abusive” to the officers.

Pratt got back into the car and put it in drive and lurched it forward while the car was aimed at an entire row of people, including two girls, O’Leary said. Winslow police Sgts. Haley Fleming and Brandon Lund were able to stop the car while a bystander pulled the keys out of the ignition, he said.

O’Leary said his officers used “massive restraint” when trying to remove Pratt from his vehicle and warned him multiple times to stop. The 80-year-old man had “incredible strength,” and it finally took three officers to get him out of the vehicle. Pratt’s arm was broken during the struggle, O’Leary said.

“In 29 years of experience, I have never seen an individual with so much strength at that age,” O’Leary said. Pratt’s wife, who was the only passenger in the car, was shaken up by the incident, he said.

After officers removed Pratt from the car and handcuffed him, they concluded they had to protect him from the surrounding crowd of bystanders, who were becoming increasingly hostile, yelling and converging on the scene, O’Leary said. The officers ended up calling in backup to help control the crowd, he said.

“We were concerned they were going to get him,” O’Leary said.

Pratt was taken to MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta for treatment and released Sunday morning after being issued a court summons, O’Leary said.

No one answered the door Tuesday afternoon at Pratt’s Oakland residence, and a telephone number for him was not listed.

Peter McGuire — 861-9239

pmcguire@centralmaine.com

Twitter: PeteL_McGuire