ALFRED — A Massachusetts woman who was driving the wrong way on the Maine Turnpike and I-195 last summer, and deliberately rammed three police cruisers that tried to stop her, will spend the next 2 1/2 years in prison.

Monique Vallee, 44, of Andover, Mass., a former nanny who once worked as a newspaper reporter, entered guilty pleas to four counts of reckless conduct, aggravated criminal mischief and eluding an officer Thursday at York County Superior Court. She was sentenced by Justice Paul Fritzsche to five years in prison, with all but 2 1/2 years suspended, plus two years probation and was ordered to undergo psychological counseling.

Her father, Paul Vallee, a retired police officer, in a letter to Fritzsche praised Saco Police for their professionalism that night, and noted that in similar cases elsewhere in the country, the perpetrator had been shot.

Vallee, who has been incarcerated at York County Jail since her arrest, apologized to police.

“I never meant to hurt anyone,” she said.

Just before 1 a.m. July 22, Saco Police were alerted by Maine State Police of a vehicle traveling south in the northbound lane on the Maine Turnpike near Exit 36. Vallee’s wrong-way driving was first discovered by a trucker, who had to pull into the break-down lane to avoid her vehicle, according to prosecutor Justina McGettigan.

The first officer who tried to stop her on I-195, Donald Fiske, pulled his cruiser onto the shoulder of the roadway, narrowly managing to avoid being hit by Vallee’s vehicle. Fiske made a U-turn and caught up with the car, which slowed to a stop, reversed direction, and rammed into him. Fiske attempted to stop the driver and she rammed his vehicle again.

Several other Saco officers continued to pursue the woman, and the driver struck another cruiser, operated by Officer Matthew Roberts, before ramming a cruiser operated by Sgt. Daniel Beaulieu, totaling that vehicle and rendering the woman’s car incapable of continuing.

Officers had to break a side window to open Vallee’s door and at some point used a stun gun to subdue her, according to police reports.

According to police, Vallee had been flicking a lighter. Her father called police to tell them there was a gas can in the car, but he didn’t know if there was gas in it. He told police he thought his daughter was trying to commit suicide.

McGettigan recommended five years in prison, with all but three years suspended.

Saco Deputy Police Chief Ray Demers read a statement penned by Fiske, who was injured and is facing shoulder surgery.

Fiske wrote that he explained to his young son how his job is to keep people safe and then reassured him when the boy heard more dramatic versions on the playground.

“This quickly leads to me re-explaining that our job is to help people, and assuring our son at bedtime that nothing will keep me from seeing him the next morning,” Fiske wrote, in part.

“There was a dedicated team of public safety personnel working that night, there was no collateral damage of innocent people or their private property, and frankly, Ms. Vallee is still alive, despite all of her efforts to be otherwise,” Fiske concluded.

Police Chief Bradley Paul praised Fiske’s efforts to stop Vallee.

“His steadiness and calmness under pressure is one of his greatest personal traits, and it served him well that evening,” Paul said in an address to the court.

Paul said he believes if her own vehicle hadn’t become disabled, Vallee’s “unbelievable, reckless” conduct would have culminated in tragedy elsewhere.

Vallee’s attorney Amy Fairfield referred to Vallee’s mental health issues, but noted she had taken responsibility for her actions by pleading guilty to six of the 10 counts against her. The remaining four counts will be dismissed.

Fairfield noted Vallee had one prior cocaine-related conviction and asked for five years with all but seven months suspended.

Vallee, referring to her mental health issues, told Fritzsche she had had been doing well with prescription medication but a series of events had taken place, including losing custody of her children, that led to her losing control.

“I got stressed out,” she said.

Fritzsche acknowledged Vallee was in the midst of a mental health crisis, but pointed out that four officers’ lives “changed a bit for the worse, because of this.”

He chose a slightly shorter sentence, by six months, than McGettigan had recommended, in part, he said, because her father has cancer and because he believes Vallee is trying to do what is right.

Paul, the police chief, said the sentence is just.

“It protects society and gives her a window of hope to put this behind her,” he said.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].