License suspensions at issue after fatality

PORTLAND – An accident last month on Interstate 295 in Topsham that took the life of a 44-year-old Southern Maine Community College professor has drawn attention to medically related license suspensions in Maine.

John Allen, 51, of Bath has been charged with reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon and operating after suspension in connection with the May 24 crash in which his car struck a sport utility vehicle, killing Harold Weisbein Jr. of Topsham.

The state had notified Allen a month before that his driver’s license would be suspended May 8 because of a medical condition. Officials said Allen did not request a hearing and did not surrender his license.

The notification followed a report by Bath police to the secretary of state’s Medical Review Unit that Allen had been driving erratically.

Neither police nor state officials would reveal details about the medical condition that led to Allen’s license suspension, citing confidentiality requirements.

Maine had 693 medically related suspensions in 2005, with the top causes being vision problems, diabetes and heart conditions.

In most instances, concerns about a driver’s medical condition surface when a license comes up for renewal. Drivers are asked at that time if they have any medical issues and may be given a vision test, sometimes at the request of a physician or a family member.

In Allen’s case, complaints to police by Bath residents raised concerns about a possible medical condition.

The department, which received 13 complaints dating back to June 2000, filed an “adverse driving report” with the Secretary of State’s Office, said acting Chief Michael Field.

Allen, whose license has been suspended six times, has a history of driving violations that goes back to 1986. Deputy Secretary of State Doug Dunbar said the state had not received any adverse driving reports on Allen until the one filed by Bath police on April 27.

The police report, which Dunbar said contains references to Allen’s medical condition, is being withheld because it contains information the state says is confidential.

Allen’s attorney, Rick Winling of Portland, also declined to discuss his client’s medical condition.

“We are obviously investigating whether in fact the state failed to follow its own procedures when it apparently suspended Mr. Allen’s driving privileges,” Winling said in a written statement. “I want to stress, however, that whether or not the suspension was proper has no bearing on the cause of this tragic accident.”

About 36,700 of Maine’s more than 1 million licensed drivers were involved in the state’s medical review program in 2005, potentially subjecting them to suspension or the placement of medical restrictions on their driving privileges.

Of 662 drivers diagnosed with diabetes whose cases were reviewed by the unit last month, only four had their licenses suspended. Many diabetic drivers would be allowed to drive as long as they are taking their medications, Dunbar said.

Debbie DiDominicus, deputy director for the Southern Maine Agency on Aging in Scarborough, said transportation for elderly people who have to surrender their license because of disability is a significant issue in Maine.

“The fact that someone is losing their independence is a big blow to their soul,” DiDominicus said. The solution, she said, is a transportation system that “just wouldn’t be a service that helps people get to medical appointments. It would be for social events as well. It’s about looking at the whole person and all of their needs as they get older.”