A Newburgh man reportedly hit a man from Bangor with a 4-by-4 post in a road-rage-related brawl Saturday evening in Hampden.

Hampden Sgt. Scott Webber said the dispute started just before 7 p.m. on Western Avenue, where two cars were heading east toward town.

According to the occupants of the second car, the first car was going unreasonably slowly. After the drivers exchanged hand gestures, Webber said, the driver of the first car allowed the second to pass. The second car pulled into the lot of the Big Apple store on Main Road North, and the slower car followed, blocking the other car in. Webber said one female and the three male occupants of the blocked-in car got out, as did the one occupant of the slower car. A verbal dispute ensued, involving physical threats, according to Webber.

The slower driver allegedly characterized the woman in the other car in disparaging terms, at which point her boyfriend, Michael Vose, 18, of Newburgh, reportedly picked up a 3-foot-long post and swung it at the man. When the man tried to disarm Vose, witnesses said, Vose and at least one other man jumped on him and started punching him.

Vose allegedly then struck the slower driver with the 4-by-4 post, which broke across the man’s back. Passers-by managed to convince the attackers to stop, called the police, and then took care of the victim, Webber said.

Webber said he and Officer Shawn Devine arrived just as Vose was driving away with his friends. They pulled the car over. After a brief investigation they summoned Vose for assault and disorderly conduct and a juvenile for disorderly conduct. Webber said the victim, although bruised and bloody, had not wanted to press charges because he felt he had incited the attack to some degree.

Old Town police arrested a man who reportedly shoved and spat at his girlfriend early Monday.

Officers Tom Adams and Seth Burnes went to a Shirley Street apartment at about 2:15 a.m. to address a report of a family fight in progress. They could hear hollering from the upstairs window as they approached, the police report said.

The officers met a woman in the hallway who said she had been trying to sleep while her boyfriend, Matthew Clermont, 37, drank in the dining room with his friends. When the woman tried to get the men to quiet down, she said, Clermont shoved her and spat in her face.

The woman said it had happened before, but she never reported it to the police. Clermont was arrested for assault.

A Swanville woman was hospitalized after a car accident in Hampden Monday afternoon.

Hampden police Officer Joel Small reported that Norma Frazee, 73, was driving south on Route 69 at about 3 p.m. and failed to yield at the intersection with Kennebec Road.

A westbound car driven by Mike Young, 17, of Winterport struck Frazee’s car on the left side, demolishing both vehicles.

Hampden Fire Department freed Frazee from her car using the Jaws of Life. Small said Frazee showed signs of internal injuries and was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center. Young and his teenage passenger were uninjured, Small said. All three were wearing seat belts. Small was still being evaluated at EMMC Monday night.

An open second-story window at the Bangor Public Library reportedly let in a cool breeze and a hungry burglar sometime this weekend.

Bangor police Officer Kerry Libby said she spoke with library officials Monday morning, who said somebody came in between 10 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. Monday.

The intruder took 45 cents in loose change and devoured a box of Cheez-Its.

Libby said the library’s windows were open to let in cool night air. She advised the library’s director to keep the windows shut at night to prevent future break-ins.

– Compiled by NEWS reporter Isaac Kimball