LINCOLN – Perhaps Brandon Meeker needed a break that day. Maybe that’s why he got up and got away.

Meeker, 21, of Lincoln was behind the wheel of a 1989 Chevrolet van when it apparently went off Enfield Road and crashed into a house near Penobscot Valley Hospital at about 5:05 a.m. Sunday, police said Thursday.

The van took out two support pillars to the porch and knocked the porch floor off its footings as it came to rest upon its roof, said one neighbor, who saw the vehicle shortly after the accident occurred.

“Its wheels were still spinning,” said the woman, who declined to give her name. “I never saw anyone exit the vehicle.”

When Officer Richard York arrived shortly afterward, he found long skid marks on the road and a snapped utility pole. The van was empty, but York recognized it, Sgt. James Slauenwhite said. He went to Meeker’s apartment, but Meeker wasn’t there.

At about that time, Slauenwhite said, police developed information that Meeker might be at McDonald’s at 66 West Broadway – just over two miles from the accident scene and, if Meeker walked West Broadway, past two restaurants and several convenience stores and gasoline stations.

Workers reported that a man had come in and ordered an orange juice or orange drink before passing out in a booth.

York found him slumped over in a booth with his head on a table, Slauenwhite said. Meeker’s clothes were dirty, he had mud on his shoes and a small amount of blood on his right hand, according to York’s report on the incident.

York awoke Meeker and, although Meeker was somewhat uncooperative, took him to the Lincoln Public Safety building and tested his blood-alcohol content level on the police department’s Intoxilyzer machine, Slauenwhite said.

His test showed a blood alcohol level of .19, more than twice the legal limit of .08, Slauenwhite said.

Meeker was charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence. He is due in 3rd District Court in Lincoln on June 20, Slauenwhite said.

The investigation is continuing.