This story was updated at 9:50 a.m. April 12 to correct the name of Richard LaChance.

PORTLAND

Police tentatively identify body discovered next to pier

Police say they have tentatively identified an adult man whose body was discovered floating next to a fishing pier at Custom House Wharf on Sunday, but Lt. James Sweatt said the man’s name would not be released until his next of kin have been notified.

Two fishermen discovered the body wedged between the pier and a fishing boat around 4:30 p.m., according to initial reports. Sweatt declined to comment on how long the body had been in the water, but said there was no evidence of wounds or trauma to the body.

The pier, at the end of Custom House Wharf off Commercial Street, was cordoned off while the city’s fireboat was used to recover the body from the water.

Investigators found a worn backpack and a half-empty bottle of beer on an overlook. Sweatt said those items might belong to the deceased.

He said there were no reports of missing persons or reported altercations from Saturday night on the waterfront.

Sweatt would not comment on whether the man’s death appeared to be suspicious. He said the state Medical Examiner’s Office has been notified.

STANDISH

Single-vehicle car accident seriously injures 17-year-old

A single-car crash on Manchester Road sent a teenage boy to the hospital with serious injuries Sunday afternoon.

Capt. Shawn O’Leary of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said emergency crews found an Acura Integra in the woods when they arrived at the scene around 4:50 p.m.

One of the two 17-year-old boys in the car was trapped and had injuries to his lower extremities. He had to be extricated and was taken by Lifeflight helicopter to Maine Medical Center in Portland.

The other boy was treated at the scene and released to his parents.

O’Leary said it appears the car failed to negotiate a curve, left the road and struck several trees.

Investigators believe speed may have been a factor in the crash, but alcohol was not.

AUGUSTA

Wrong-way I-95 motorist to serve six months in jail

A Belgrade man who admitted he was drunk when he drove the wrong way for 14 miles on Interstate 95 before crashing into a state police trooper’s vehicle will report to jail next month.

Richard LaChance, 56, pleaded guilty last Tuesday to operating under the influence and reckless conduct in the crash and was sent to jail for six months.

The Kennebec Journal said LaChance drove south in the northbound lanes of I-95 from Waterville to Augusta on the night of Oct. 1, 2009. When police tried to stop him with spike mats, his car crashed into a trooper’s parked cruiser.

Prosecutors said LaChance’s blood alcohol content was 0.27 percent, more than three times the legal limit to drive.

LaChance also was ordered to serve two years probation and pay a $500 fine and $14,000 in restitution.

State rangers cracking down on 4-wheel-drive ‘mudders’

Maine forest rangers say they’ll be on the lookout in the coming weeks for people damaging Maine’s unpaved back roads by going “mudding” in four-wheel-drive vehicles.

The Maine Forest Service said property owners every spring suffer road damages from people who seek out wet, muddy forest and farm roads where they can slip, slide and spin their pickup trucks and other vehicles in the mud.

Officials said it can take just a few minutes for vehicles to cause thousands of dollars in damage while also harming fish habitat at stream crossings.

Forest rangers will be on patrol in the weeks ahead looking for people damaging the roads. In an effort to identify trouble spots, the forest service has been in touch with landowners who have had problems in the past.

In-home ‘Table Talks’ slated to address teenage drinking

Leaders of efforts to stop underage drinking in Maine say they’re going with a time-tested model: the Tupperware party.

Hundreds of parents will gather this spring to participate in “Table Talks” about preventing underage drinking. The Maine Office of

Substance Abuse said Table Talks are small, informal discussions led by trained facilitators in parents’ homes or similarly comfortable settings.

First lady Karen Baldacci, who chairs a national governors’ effort to keep children alcohol-free, said underage drinking is a serious problem in Maine. She said Table Talks will help parents address that.

To request a Table Talk, visit www.maineosa.org/prevention/adult/tabletalks/contacts.htm.

ROXBURY

Collisions prompt warnings about moose near roadways

Maine transportation officials are warning motorists to be on the lookout for moose, which are more likely to show up on the sides of roads at this time of the year.

The warning comes after state police responded to two car-moose collisions within an hour of each other on Route 120 in Roxbury on Friday night. The Sun Journal of Lewiston said no motorists were killed in the collisions.

State transportation spokesman Mark Latti said moose frequent the roadways for several reasons in late spring.

The sides of roads are the first areas to green up in the spring, offering moose tender plant shoots as a source of food after a long winter of eating poor-quality food. Latti also said the moose crave the salt found along roadsides in the spring.

SOUTH BERWICK

Motorcycle goes over embankment, leaving two people injured

Two people were injured Sunday afternoon when their motorcycle went over an embankment and crashed off Route 236.

South Berwick police said the motorcycle went off the road just south of the Cumberland Farms convenience store around 4:49 p.m.

Both riders suffered non-life threatening injuries. The cause of the accident remains under investigation.