Rhaheem Friend has been charged with manslaughter in the death of passenger Nicholas Foss in the August crash on South Solon Road. Photo courtesy of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office

A Skowhegan man has been charged with manslaughter for an August 2024 crash in Solon that left a Madison man dead.

Rhaheem Friend, 34, was charged Thursday with one Class A count of manslaughter, one Class B count of operating after suspension with accident/death and one Class B count of operating under the influence with death, Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster said in a statement.

Friend, who was already being held at the Somerset County Jail in Madison on unrelated charges, was being held on $50,000 cash bail as of Thursday evening, Lancaster said.

The Aug. 7 crash was reported around 7 a.m. on South Solon Road in Solon, the Sheriff’s Office said. Responders found one vehicle, a 2011 Toyota Camry, that had crashed off South Solon Lane near Merrill Lane, into a tree. Following the crash, South Solon Road was closed to traffic for nearly six hours.

Friend was identified as the driver and was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, Lancaster said.

His front-seat passenger, Nicholas Foss, 38, of Madison, was pronounced dead at the scene. Friend and Foss were not wearing seat belts.

Per an initial investigation, Friend was driving east, veered to the right, hit several mailboxes and struck a large tree.

Lancaster said Detective Michael Lyman investigated the crash from August through March and recently obtained an arrest warrant for Friend. The Somerset County district attorney’s office assisted in the investigation and has reviewed the case, Lancaster said.

Chief Deputy Michael Mitchell said at the time of the crash that it was unclear when exactly it happened.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct Nicholas Foss’s age.