Boothbay woman allegedly drug-impaired in Wiscasset crash

Another Boothbay woman, one horse hurt; arrest was Wiscasset’s second drug-impaired driving charge in two days
Thu, 10/08/2015 - 11:45pm

A Boothbay woman is facing a charge of operating under the influence of drugs in connection with a Route 1, Wiscasset crash on Oct. 8, police said. The accident led to one person’s injuries and a rerouting of traffic onto Old Bath Road Thursday afternoon.

The arrest of Cheryl Swenson, 54, of Boothbay was Wiscasset’s second one in two days regarding a driver allegedly impaired by prescription drugs, Wiscasset Police Department states in a press release late Oct. 8.

“Both incidents involved prescription medications with both operators not taking the medications as prescribed,” Police Chief Troy Cline writes in an email reporting on the separate arrests.

Wiscasset's fire, police and ambulance departments, as well as Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, responded to the mid-afternoon, Oct. 8 accident, Deputy Wiscasset Fire Chief John Merry said at the scene as he directed traffic near the intersection of Route 1 and Old Bath Road’s south entrance.

Windham police were passing through the area. Windham Police Chief Kevin Schofield, Lt. James Boudreau and another officer identified as Sgt. Andrews helped those involved in the accident before local crews arrived, according to a Wiscasset Police Department press release later Oct. 8.

Cheryl Swenson, 54, of Boothbay was driving a 2003 Subaru Outback northbound on Route 1 with her mother, Carolyne Hutchins, 77, of Boothbay as a passenger, when the Subaru swerved into the southbound lane and had a near miss with a vehicle in front of one towing a horse trailer, the release states.

Then the Subaru hit the horse trailer, towed by a 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 that Kirstie Ransdell, 44, of Bristol was driving, the release continues. Neither she nor her 15-year-old daughter, a passenger in the Dodge, was hurt. The trailer had disabling damage and was towed from the scene.

Hutchins was taken to Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the release. She was taken onto Maine Medical Center that same afternoon, a spokesman for Miles said Oct. 9.

One horse was aboard the trailer when the crash occurred, Wiscasset Police Officer Tom Hoepner said Oct. 9; the horse was later loaded onto another trailer, Hoepner said.

The horse received minor injuries in the crash, according to an email response from Cline on Oct 9.

The crash’s impact caused the Subaru to roll over and come to a rest on its roof while in the northbound lane; a test at nearby Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset showed no alcohol in Swenson’s system, the release states. “(That) was not consistent with the level of impairment that Chief Cline had observed.” He asked for a drug recognition expert. Sheriff’’s Deputy Matthew Sharpe did an examination, and Swenson was determined to be allegedly impaired by both heroin and prescription drugs.

Cline arrested Swenson on a Class B charge of “Operating Under the Influence of Drugs, With Injury and with One Prior, the release states.

Swenson was released Oct. 9 on $500 bail, jail staff said Oct. 12.

On Route 1 on Oct. 7, Alison Spikell, 63, of Portland was charged with Class D “Operating Under the Influence of Drugs, 1 Prior,” a separate Oct. 8, Wiscasset Police Department press release states. At about 11:30 a.m. Oct. 7, Cline responded to Main Street on a report of erratic driving. The caller had said a gray Honda CR-V was southbound on Route 1 in Edgecomb, approaching Wiscasset and had almost hit several vehicles head-on.

Cline saw the Honda on Route 1 where it crossed the center line and nearly struck a vehicle head-on, the release states. He stopped the vehicle and determined the driver, Spikell, might be impaired. No alcohol was found in her system; an examination by Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy First Class Mark Bridgham, a drug recognition expert, determined Spikell was allegedly impaired by prescription drug use; she was charged with the offense.

Spikell was released from Two Bridges on $500 unsecured bail, jail staff said Friday.