A Somerset County sheriff’s deputy was taken to a hospital briefly and his cruiser was damaged and left undrivable because of a crash during the early morning hours Thursday that happened while he was trying to help Maine State Police find a teenager who was reportedly suicidal.

One of the troopers was trying to stop the boy’s southbound vehicle on U.S. Route 201, Somerset County Chief Deputy James Ross said.

State police Sgt. Blaine Bronson said they were responding to a report of suicidal 17-year-old boy in the Moscow area when the boy took off in a vehicle around midnight. Bronson said police did not chase the boy but followed him as he made his way south and then west.

Ross said Deputy Lucas Libby went to the area of Clough’s Corner in Madison on U.S. Route 201 and headed north in an attempt to find a strategic spot to set up spike mats to slow the boy’s vehicle. As Libby arrived in that area, he learned the vehicle had crossed over to the Embden area and was southbound on Route 16.

Four Somerset County deputies and a fire unit from Anson also responded.

Libby then drove to Golf Course Road in Madison and headed back west in case the vehicle continued toward the Madison-Anson Bridge, Ross said.

Advertisement

“As Deputy Libby approached the intersection of Thurston Hill Road (Route 43) and Golf Course Road he misjudged his approach and went off the road into the ditch, causing damage to the patrol unit,” Ross said, saying the crash occurred a few minutes after midnight.

Libby was not injured in the crash but was checked out at Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan as a precaution, according to Ross. The cruiser was deemed inoperable and had to be towed from the scene, he said.

“We were just trying to make contact with him,” Bronson said of the boy. “I attempted to stop him and he didn’t stop. We didn’t chase him; we just shut down and followed him.”

Bronson said the boy drove onto a snowmobile or ATV trail off Eames Road near the Embden-Anson town line, but found that the trail was blocked by a cable. He stopped his vehicle and fled on foot into the woods, Bronson said.

“Ultimately he came out and we were able to take him to the hospital for evaluation,” he said.

He said police did not need to use a tracking dog and that the boy was not injured. Bronson said the incident took about six hours from start to finish.

Advertisement

Doug Harlow — 612-2367

dharlow@centralmaine.com

Twitter:@Doug_Harlow

 


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.