Ashland Police Chase Ends With Car Crash on Mapleton Road

A police pursuit that started in Ashland Tuesday evening came to end when the 19-year-old driver crashed his car near the Presque Isle-Mapleton line.

Ashland Police Chief Cyr Martin tells us that Officer Tyler Cote attempted to pull over a red 2004 Pontiac Grand Am for speeding on Exchange Street in Ashland around 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, but the driver refused to stop.

Officer Cote pursued the car for about 1000 feet before turning on his siren. Chief Martin said the chase continued onto the State Road towards Mapleton at speeds averaging perhaps 60 miles an hour.  The driver led police onto the Turner Road in Castle Hill and the Dudley Road in Mapleton, erratically slowing down and speeding up.

State Police, the Aroostook County Sheriff's Office and Presque Isle Police also responded as the pursuit continued down the Mapleton Road towards Presque Isle.  Officers set up a roadblock at the Buck Street intersection near the Northern Maine Regional Airport.

Chief Martin said the young driver "gunned it" and crashed the Grand Am into a telephone pole.  The car bounced off the pole and struck a vehicle that was stopped on the other side of the roadblock.  Fortunately, no one was seriously injured.

Martin says the driver, an 19-year-old man from the Presque Isle area, was taken to the Aroostook Medical Center for evaluation.  He was then transported to the Aroostook County Jail, charged with Failure to Stop, Eluding an Officer, Driving to Endanger, and Passing a Roadblock.