AUGUSTA — A Skowhegan man allegedly drove his Chevrolet sedan almost 2 miles on the Kennebec River Rail Trail on Wednesday afternoon, entering the trail at Water Street in Augusta and getting stopped by police near an old fuel depot at Hinkley Point in Hallowell.
The man reportedly was taking an Australian friend sightseeing when he drove his car onto the paved trail under Memorial Bridge in Augusta, then continued south, said Sgt. Christian Behr, of the Augusta Police Department.
The driver, Lawrence Goldsmith, 53, missed the sign that says no motorized vehicles, besides wheelchairs, are allowed on the trail, Behr added. The trail — which runs 6.5 miles from Augusta to Gardiner — is popular among walkers, runners and bicyclists.
Augusta police don’t plan to charge Goldsmith with any infractions. Hallowell police Chief Eric Nason didn’t return a call immediately seeking comment Wednesday afternoon.
“I can’t speak for (Hallowell police), but it was a sort of a traffic infraction where a warning was issued,” Behr said. “There was no erratic operation that could cause injuries.”
No one was in danger because of the mistake, Behr said. It was first reported to police around 1:45 p.m. by pedestrians who saw the sedan driving along the trail.
Charles Eichacker — 621-5642
Twitter: @ceichacker
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.