Police say a Cape Elizabeth teenager who was fatally injured in a crash in April was operating under the influence of alcohol.
Cole Amorello had a blood-alcohol content of 0.092percent at the time of the crash, Cape Elizabeth police said Friday. There were no signs of drugs in his system. It is not legal for anyone under 21 to drive with alcohol in their blood system. The legal limit for anyone 21 or older is 0.08.
Amorello, 17, crashed into trees along Old Ocean House Road shortly after 5 a.m. on April 9. He died April 11 at Maine Medical Center in Portland.
Police said Amorello was driving a 2006 BMW sedan north when he failed to make a curve and crashed into some trees. He was wearing a seat belt and was alone in the car. Police believe he had consumed alcohol at a party in Cape Elizabeth before the crash. Speed and driver inexperience also contributed to the crash, according to a preliminary investigation.
Amorello did not have a valid driver’s license, according to police. He did have a valid learner’s permit that would have required him to drive under the supervision of a licensed driver.
Police Chief Neil Williams said the investigation is ongoing, but no charges have been filed. Officers have interviewed several people who were at the party, but have not been able to determine who bought the beer Amorello drank, he said.
“We’ve sent officers out to canvass the establishments in our community and surrounding communities where they sell the type of alcohol consumed that evening,” Williams said. “We’ve been unable to prove where it was purchased.”
Williams said the people who have been interviewed say they do not know where the beer came from. Officers still need to interview several people who are out of the country.
Amorello was a junior at Cape Elizabeth High School, where he excelled in the theater program and was known for making people laugh. He starred in the award-winning play “The Dishwasher” last year.
“Cole was a bright, spirited young man, who was talented in theater, speech, writing, conversation and making friends with adults and students alike,” Principal Jeff Shedd wrote in an email to students last month. “He was witty and spontaneous and full of life and dreams for his future.”
The school brought in counselors to meet with students after Amorello’s death.
Old Ocean House Road is also the road where 17-year-old Cape Elizabeth High School student Kevin Brady died in August 2000 after crashing his car. Speed was considered to be a factor in that crash as well.
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