VASSALBORO — Authorities are waiting for the results of a blood analysis to determine whether intoxicated driving was a factor in a Saturday crash that sent one man to the hospital via LifeFlight.
John Tompkins, 46, of Vassalboro, has been identified as the individual who was airlifted to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston Saturday morning after he was ejected from the vehicle he had been driving on Nelson Road.
Vassalboro Police Chief Mark Brown, who was first to the scene Saturday, said Tompkins was “gravely injured” in the crash. A nurse at CMMC’s Intensive Care Unit confirmed Wednesday that Tompkins is now stable.
Sgt. Galen Estes, of the Kennebec Sheriff’s Office, said Tompkins “suffered a head injury and some internal injuries.” Estes is the primary official on the case, which he said is still under investigation.
Brown noted Sunday that he received an anonymous tip while responding to the crash that an intoxicated driver had left a residence in the area where Tompkins was found. The car that the caller described matched the description of the one Tompkins was driving, Brown said.
Law enforcement officials have been unable to trace the source of that call, Estes noted. He is unsure whether any charges will be brought against Tompkins.
“A search warrant has been executed to obtain (Tompkins’) blood from the hospital,” Estes said. “I did obtain the blood and it is processing in a lab in Augusta.”
Estes said that it will take at least six months to get the results of the blood analysis, at which point the case will be reviewed by the district attorney to determine any charges.
Tompkins was traveling eastbound on Nelson Road near Crowell Hill Road at around 11 a.m. when the crash occurred.
“(The car) was a little fast going into the curve, lost control and swung into the trees there,” said Estes, who reconstructed the crash at the scene.
Brown said Sunday that the vehicle appeared to have hit an embankment and rolled over, sending the driver out of the vehicle through the passenger side.
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