March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Police investigate fatal car crash in Gardiner chase

GARDINER — A man who was killed in a stolen car that crashed while being pursued by police had a history of motor vehicle offenses, with two convictions for eluding an officer, authorities said Friday.

Officials identified the victim of Thursday morning’s crash as David Foster Davis Jr., 26, of Randolph and Bangor.

Gardiner Police Chief Michael Cote said pursuing officers “appeared to have handled it by the numbers,” but that, as a routine step to ensure an independent investigation, the Kennebec Sheriff’s Department had been called in to review the incident.

The chase began early Thursday morning when a blue compact car sped past two policemen along U.S. Route 201. Cote said the officers tried to stop the car, then dropped back about a quarter of a mile and followed it as it sped south.

The car, which police said at times strayed over to the wrong side of the highway, struck a guardrail and bounced across the road, hitting another guardrail before coming to a stop. The driver, who was thrown from the car, was pronounced dead at a hospital.

It was only afterward that the officers learned that the car had been reported stolen in Randolph shortly before the crash, Cote said.


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