Old Town man victim of hit-and-run

Old Town police on Sunday were investigating a hit-and-run accident that sent a 78-year-old pedestrian to the hospital.

Michael Salvato of Old Town was treated at Eastern Maine Medical Center and released, a hospital nursing supervisor said Sunday.

Salvato was crossing North Main Street near Gossamer Press on Friday when he was struck by what witnesses described as a small, dark sedan, possibly with four doors. After being struck, Salvato rolled up onto the hood of the car, then onto the road, near the centerline, according to the police report.

That’s where Old Town police Officer Dana Andrews found Salvato, lying on his left side, talking while trying to roll over. Andrews held him immobile until an ambulance arrived.

Salvato’s wife told police that they had parked outside Gossamer Press, and while she stayed in the car her husband crossed the street to Dave’s Barber Shop. She said she didn’t know what had happened until she saw a group of people gathering on the street.

The accident occurred shortly before 5 p.m. and the weather was foggy, Sgt. Michael Hashey said Sunday. He said the department was following up on leads.

Wanted on a warrant and with his license suspended since 1992, a Biddeford driver gave Bangor police someone else’s name Friday night – a name without such legal baggage.

Wilmer McNeely, 33, told police he was Patrick Callahan when he was stopped for going the wrong way on a one-way section of First Street. McNeely couldn’t provide any identification, registration, insurance or license, despite his claims that he had an active license in West Virginia, reported Officer Shawn Green.

“Callahan” had a clean record. But Green said he could see a veteran’s license plate on the floor behind the front passenger seat in the 1985 Chevrolet Spectrum and later found a matching pair in the car that records showed expired in November 2001. The Spectrum was bearing plates that belonged on a Mercury Grand Marquis, Green noted.

When the officer detected the smell of alcohol, he asked the driver to perform field sobriety tests. Despite claims that he had had two beers earlier, the man had difficulty with the tests and shook and swayed during the tests.

Green arrested the man calling himself Callahan, and an Intoxilyzer test registered the man’s blood alcohol content at 0.17 percent, or more than twice the legal limit. Green charged him with operating an unregistered motor vehicle, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants and operating a motor vehicle without a license.

Then, officials at Penobscot County Jail learned Callahan’s real identity and reported that McNeely was wanted on a warrant for failure to pay a fine for a previous OUI conviction. Green reported that McNeely’s license had at least five active suspensions and that his license hadn’t been restored since 1992.

McNeely was charged with four counts of aggravated forgery for signing the summonses and booking sheets as Callahan. He also was charged with being a habitual offender and for failure to produce identification.

An accident at the intersection of Main and Union streets in Bangor late Saturday led to the arrest of one of the drivers on a drunken driving charge.

Vickie L. Boutilier, 33, of Harmony was turning left onto Main Street when she failed to yield and struck another car, according to a police report. Investigating the accident, Officer Brian Nichols spoke to Boutilier and reported a slight slur in her speech and said her eyes were glassy and bloodshot. Boutilier admitted to having one beer, but performed poorly on field sobriety tests and was arrested about 11:30 p.m.

Nichols searched her and reported finding a marijuana pipe in her right front pants pocket and a small bag of marijuana in the left front pocket.

Boutilier’s blood alcohol content registered 0.20 percent on the Intoxilyzer test, or 21/2 times the legal limit. She was charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants, possession of a usable amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

A Howland man was arrested early Sunday after he was seen driving the wrong way on Hammond Street in Bangor.

Officer Edward A. Mercier reported seeing a small blue pickup truck on Outer Hammond Street facing east in the westbound lane near Interstate 395, then making a wide left turn onto the Odlin Road. The truck then swerved and crossed into the centerline. Mercier put on his emergency lights and the pickup, driven by Perri Seeley, 25, pulled into the parking lot of the Ramada Inn.

The pickup came inches from striking a parked car in the lot, but then the truck kept going, passing about 50 parked cars even after the officer honked his horn.

Seeley used the pickup for support as he got out of the cab and swayed as he walked to the officer, according to the report. Seeley claimed he had had nothing to drink and was just picking up a friend, although Mercier reported that his eyes were glazed and his speech slurred and that during field sobriety tests he swayed and lost his balance.

Mercier arrested Seeley, charging him with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants.

– Compiled by NEWS reporter Doug Kesseli