Head-on crash hurts four in Bar Harbor Winter Harbor man charged with OUI

BAR HARBOR – A Winter Harbor man has been charged with drunken driving in connection with a two-car, head-on accident on Crooked Road, according to police.

Allan Richards, 34, reportedly was driving a 1986 Toyota west towards Town Hill on Thursday when he crossed the centerline and struck the side of a 2001 Saab headed the opposite direction, Officer Tim Bland of Bar Harbor said Sunday. The Saab rolled onto its side from the force of the impact, Bland said.

Richards allegedly smelled of alcohol and had glassy eyes when police arrived at the accident, which occurred around 5:30 p.m., according to Bland.

Richards initially helped the four passengers out of the other vehicle but allegedly returned to his car when he heard police were on their way, Bland said.

“He ran back up to his car and threw a bunch of beer bottles into the woods,” said the officer. “That’s kind of a red flag.”

Bland said he recovered 18 beer bottles from woods by the side of the road. Richards has been charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicants, he said.

Richards and three passengers in the Saab – John Kannegieser, 67, of Winthrop; Joseph Donnell, 71, and Judith Donnell, 67 – all were taken to Mount Desert Island Hospital in Bar Harbor with minor injuries, Bland said. He did not know the hometown of the Donnells.

The driver of the Saab, Suzanne Kannegieser, 67, of Winthrop, was not injured. The four others, including Richards, were treated at the Bar Harbor hospital and have since been released, he said.

Damge to the Saab was estimated at $6, according to the officer, The Toyota was demolished. Everyone involved in the crash was wearing seat belts at the time of the accident, Bland said.

“That’s a true testimony to seat belts, because it could have been a lot worse,” he said.