ROCKLAND, Maine — A New Hampshire man has been arrested on a charge of manslaughter for a Feb. 9 fatal crash that occurred on Route 17 in Washington.
Noah McGrath, 27, of Nashua, New Hampshire, was brought to the Knox County Jail on June 19, charged with both manslaughter and operating under the influence.
Joshua Theriault-Patten, 37, of Newcastle died at a hospital from injuries received in the crash.
Theriault-Patten was driving a 2009 Hyundai Accent and McGrath was driving a 2016 Subaru Forrester. The crash was reported at 9:32 p.m. on Route 17 just west of Fitch Road. Emergency responders arrived and found both drivers trapped in their vehicles. Both drivers were taken to MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital in Rockport for injuries. McGrath sustained minor injuries.
At the time of the crash, police noted that Theriault-Patten had crossed the center line of the road and the two vehicles struck nearly head-on. Further investigation, however, found that Theriault-Patten had veered into the other lane because McGrath was in his lane and then McGrath veered back into his own lane, resulting in the crash.
McGrath was scheduled to make his initial appearance on the charges Friday in the state court in Knox County. Bail was set at $10,000 cash. The district attorney’s office obtained an arrest warrant from the court on April 15 and police have been trying to locate him for the past two months. The Knox County Sheriff’s Office made the arrest.
This stretch of road has a high rate of crashes, according to statistics from the Maine Department of Transportation. The stretch of Route 17 in Washington from Fitch Road to West Washington Road had 16 crashes with a total of four injuries from 2019 through 2021.
This was also the stretch where two people died when a tractor trailer veered into oncoming traffic and crashed into multiple vehicles in 2016.
In that instance, the driver of the tractor trailer, 60-year-old Randall Junior Weddle, was sentenced to 30 years in prison with all but 25 years suspended for 15 counts, including two counts of manslaughter. Evidence showed he was speeding and under the influence at the time of the crash.
This story appears through a media partnership with Midcoast Villager.
