NEW LIMERICK – A 17-year-old New Limerick boy was charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants after a crash Saturday morning on Lake Road.

Ryan Doescher was traveling west at about 11:40 a.m. when he lost control of his 1989 Dodge pickup truck on a sharp left curve, according to Trooper Anita Levesque of the Maine State Police.

The truck went onto the shoulder on the right side of the two-lane road, but Doescher managed to keep the vehicle from going down an embankment and into a field. Instead, he cut the wheel hard to the left, causing the truck to dart sharply across the eastbound lane.

The truck went off the left side of the road and struck a utility pole, which snapped off.

When police arrived, Doescher was trying to back away from the pole, according to Levesque. He was prevented from doing so by a support cable on the pole that had become entangled in his truck, she said. The truck was a total loss.

Doescher was not wearing a seat belt and hit his head during the crash. An ambulance took him to Houlton Regional Hospital, where he was treated for his injury, and he then was transferred to the Aroostook County Jail in Houlton.

He was released Saturday evening into the custody of his parents, Levesque said.

A line crew from the Houlton Water Co. replaced the utility pole by midafternoon. The crash did not cause anyone to lose power.

Also responding to the crash were Trooper Joshua D’Angelo and the Houlton Fire Department Rescue Team.