BENTON – A driver headed north on Interstate 95 at speeds topping 130 mph braked suddenly, causing a state police cruiser that was pursuing him to rear-end his car.

When the Sunday night chase ended in Benton, Maine State Police Trooper Paul Stewart’s cruiser was damaged, as was the 1997 Ford Taurus driven by Kurt Morgridge, 29, of Portland.

Neither man was hurt.

Morgridge was arrested and charged with driving to endanger, criminal speed, eluding a police officer, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants (drugs), possession of Schedule W drugs – crack cocaine – and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The incident began just before 10 p.m. when a state police bomb squad member, in an unmarked truck, alerted dispatchers that a car was speeding north on I-95 from Brunswick, according to Troop C Commander Lt. Dale Lancaster.

A second complaint was received from another off-duty trooper in an unmarked truck. Then somebody reported that the car had charged through the Gardiner tollbooth at 60 mph and did not stop.

A Fairfield police officer clocked the car at 133 mph and confirmed that it was still northbound, now without headlights.

Trooper Stewart began chasing the car in Fairfield and, at one point, got close enough to determine a plate number. “As soon as he got close to the car, it began driving erratically, swerving back and forth in front of the cruiser,” Lancaster said.

“Then, for no apparent reason, [the Taurus driver] just stood on the brakes,” Lancaster said. By this time, the Taurus was smoking badly, apparently having serious mechanical problems.

“It was unavoidable, but Trooper Stewart struck the rear of the Taurus and both cars ended up stopped at the edge of the median at mile marker 136 in Benton,” Lancaster said.

Lancaster said state Fire Marshal’s Office Investigator Scott Richardson assisted at the highway, where there “was a little tussle” with Morgridge.

Morgridge was taken to the Somerset County Jail in Skowhegan. He told Trooper Sean Kinney that he had a previous drug conviction.

“This was clearly a formula for disaster or a fatality,” said Lancaster. “It was fortunate for everyone, the guy we arrested and the trooper, that it ended the way it did.”