Motorist acquitted of manslaughter

AUBURN – A Farmington man has been acquitted of manslaughter and aggravated drunken driving charges linked to a collision in Turner that killed a man from Peru.

The Androscoggin County Superior Court jury, which weighed the evidence for less than two hours Thursday, found Dana C. Cook, 23, guilty of a lesser drunken driving charge.

Cook admitted to drinking several beers hours before his sport utility vehicle collided with a station wagon on Route 4 around 1 a.m. Aug. 25, 2001. The crash killed Mark Waddington, 43.

Cook told jurors he was neither impaired nor tired at the time of the accident, even though a blood test found his alcohol level to be 0.10. The state considers someone to be operating under the influence if he tests at 0.08 or higher.

Police concluded that Cook’s SUV crossed a solid line and went into Waddington’s lane.