TOPSHAM

A Woolwich man was removed from his car and taken to a hospital after police say he refused to stop for Brunswick and Topsham police during a dicey drive through both towns Friday.

Brunswick Deputy Police Chief Marc Hagan said a Maine Marine Patrol officer headed to a rescue call in Harpswell noticed a white Ford Ranger pickup on U.S. Route 1 in Bath, tailgating him as he had his lights and sirens on, meaning the pickup was speeding.

When the officer exited Route 1 at Cook’s Corner, Brunswick police Officer Julia Gillespie began to follow. When the truck entered Topsham, she disengaged and called Topsham.

Topsham Police Lt. Fred Dunn said Topsham Officer Cheryl Holmes observed the vehicle at 11:24 a.m. as it allegedly blew through the red light and turned left onto Main Street into oncoming traffic at Route 196 and U.S. Route 201. The driver realized he was on the wrong side of the median then corrected, Dunn said.

“And that’s when he sped up,” Dunn said, going as fast as 50 mph down Main Street.

The vehicle crossed the Frank J. Wood Bridge, and then was stopped in traffic near Fort Andross. Police approached but the driver refused to open the doors.

Officers broke the driverside window. The driver, Colby Carr, 24, of Woolwich, refused to exit, was peppersprayed and extricated, Dunn said, “and then he started to fight… After that he was brought to the ground, handcuffed, and he was too out of control to be taken by Rescue so he was transported in one of the Brunswick cruisers” to Mid Coast Hospital, where Hagan said he was evaluated.

Hagan said Carr was suffering a mental health issue.

Topsham police will charge him with eluding an officer and driving to endanger. Brunswick police have d summonsed him on charges of driving to endanger, refusing to submit to arrest and failure to stop for police.

dmoore@timesrecord.com

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