The suspect in the high-speed motorcycle chase through Canaan and Pittsfield on Sunday has turned himself in to police.

Clarence I. Rider III Somerset County Sheriff’s Office photo

Clarence I. Rider III, 41, of Pittsfield, turned himself into Pittsfield police Tuesday after receiving medical care at Northern Light Sebasticook Valley Hospital, according to Somerset County Chief Deputy Mike Mitchell.

Mitchell said that Rider turned himself in and was cooperative with law enforcement. He is charged with eluding an officer, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident and motor vehicle speeding of 30-plus miles per hour over the speed limit.

Mitchell said Wednesday that Rider made bail and will appear in court in September.

On Sunday, Somerset County deputies responded to a report of a motorcycle crash with possible trauma on the Hill Road in Canaan shortly after 4:28 p.m., Sheriff Dale Lancaster said Monday.

While Deputy Stephen Armiger was on his way to the scene, the Canaan Fire Department reported the operator of the motorcycle and a passenger had gotten back on the motorcycle and fled the crash scene.

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Armiger saw what he believed to be the fleeing motorcyclists on a 2002 Honda WTX 1800. The deputy caught up to the motorcycle on U.S. Route 2, where he turned on his emergency lights and sirens.

According to Lancaster, the operator accelerated and began to pass other vehicles and reached speeds of more than 100 mph.

The Sheriff’s Office shift supervisor, Cpl. Matthew Cunningham, overheard the radio traffic, including that the pursuit stopped. But as Armiger was turning off his emergency equipment, he saw the motorcycle turn onto the Wilson Road in Pittsfield, Lancaster said.

Armiger followed the motorcycle down Wilson Road, a dead-end, and saw the operator of the motorcycle allegedly push the passenger, Stephanie A. Freeman, off the motorcycle.

“The operator of the motorcycle than accelerated again through a cornfield, around Deputy Armiger’s cruiser and back to the roadway,” Lancaster said earlier this week.

“Deputy Armiger stopped to check the well-being of the passenger. At this point, the deputy identified the passenger and the operator. The operator of the motorcycle was identified as Clarence I. Rider III, age 41, of Canaan.”

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Deputies investigated and headed to a home on Livingston Street in Pittsfield, where they did not find Rider, but said the motorcycle involved was in plan view. After notifying families that the motorcycle was going to be towed and impounded, the family members allegedly became belligerent.

Rider’s father, Clarence I. Rider Jr., 63, of  Exeter, arrived with a handgun in his waistband and tried to take possession of the motorcycle, according to Lancaster.

Deputies arrested Rider Jr.; Casey Rider, 36, of Pittsfield; Arlene M. Rider, 62, of Exeter; and Freeman, 31, of Skowhegan, according to Lancaster.

The four were charged with obstruction of governmental administration and taken to Somerset County Jail in Skowhegan. They made bail and are scheduled to appear Sept. 9 at Skowhegan Unified Court, according to Lancaster.

Lancaster said all four had a part in assaulting the deputies and wrecker driver, all of whom were punched but did not require medical care.

Lancaster said the cases will be reviewed by the Somerset County District Attorney’s Office for additional charges.

Officers from the Maine State Police and Pittsfield Police Department assisted sheriff’s deputies at the scene on Livingston Street in Pittsfield, according to Lancaster.

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