An Old Town man crashed into a house in the town of Milford on Sunday night after allegedly trying to ram the vehicle of a Penobscot County sheriff’s deputy.
The incident happened just after 10 p.m., according to the sheriff’s office. The deputy was driving south on Route 2 to help another deputy in a neighboring town and had his emergency lights and siren on, when he noticed a truck coming up quickly behind him.
The driver of the truck appeared to try to hit the rear of the deputy’s cruiser twice, forcing the deputy to swerve into the oncoming lane, according to police. On the second attempt, the truck passed the right side of the deputy’s cruiser, at which point the driver lost control, hit a utility pole, then crashed into a house near Call Road.
The truck went completely into the first floor of the house, police said. Three people in the house at the time were not injured.
The crash scene included debris from the house and utility lines, and emergency crews were not immediately able to reach the driver, Albert Harnois, 41, of Old Town.
Harnois was removed and brought to the hospital with a minor head injury and received a mental health evaluation, during which he allegedly assaulted hospital staff.
After he was released from the hospital, he was admitted to the Penobscot County Jail and charged with criminal attempted assault on a law enforcement officer, aggravated criminal mischief, driving to endanger, reckless conduct, and criminal speed.
Police said Harnois had received a criminal trespass notice from the Old Town Police earlier in the day and a second such notice from a deputy about 30 minutes before his encounter with the sheriff’s deputy, who was not part of either previous criminal trespass incident.
