A Skowhegan man was arrested Saturday after police said he crashed a car on Thurston Hill Road in Madison, causing serious injury to himself and a woman who was a passenger.
Leslie Ridley Jr., 36, was charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident/aggravated, driving to endanger, operating after habitual offender status, operating under the influence and motor vehicle speeding of 30-plus miles over the speed limit, according to Chief Deputy James Ross of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.
The crash took place around 4 p.m. Saturday on Thurston Hill Road near the intersection of U.S. Route 201 and injured three people total.
A woman whom police identified as Michael Whitman, 35, of Skowhegan, was a passenger in the back seat of the car, a 2013 Honda Accord, and was reportedly unconscious and trapped in the vehicle with a serious head injury.
She was extricated by the Madison Fire Department and transported to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor for possibly life threatening injuries. An employee at the hospital said Sunday that Whitman was not listed as a patient.
The front seat passenger, Forrest Ruman, 43, of Skowhegan, suffered minor cuts and bruises and was treated at the scene and released, Ross said.
Meanwhile, Ridley fled the scene and police brought in a dog to try and locate him. He was found by a Maine State Police trooper in an unmarked car further down Thurston Hill Road. He appeared seriously injured and was trying to ask for a ride. He was treated for his injuries and then transported to the Somerset County Jail.
The crash remains under investigation but speed and alcohol are believed to have contributed to the cause, according to Ross.
State Police also assisted the sheriff’s office in reconstructing the crash.
Rachel Ohm — 612-2368
Twitter: @rachel_ohm
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