BANGOR – A car fire on the Veterans Remembrance Bridge Sunday night was the result of a Brewer woman’s unsuccessful attempt either to commit suicide or speed away from authorities, police said.

A visibly intoxicated Catharyn Brandolini was found in a parked Ford Bronco on Interstate 395 bridge at 8:25 p.m. Sunday night, Bangor Police Officer Dan Herrick said. After a brief conversation, she accelerated and then crashed her car into the guard rail, causing the vehicle to catch fire, he said.

Herrick said he noticed Brandolini, 45, sitting in the car parked in the passing lane, almost to the center of the bridge. She was drinking from an open bottle of coffee brandy.

“She said she hadn’t been driving, but didn’t know how she got there,” Herrick said. “She didn’t know what time it was or where she was.”

Herrick called for backup and attempted to take away Brandolini’s keys. She refused to give them to him, he said, and she threw the keys on the passenger side of the car. Herrick said he suspected Brandolini might be suicidal as she said she wanted to die. When he asked her if she felt like hurting herself, Brandolini said no and that she had just had a bad day, Herrick said.

“The concern of her driving off did occur to me,” Herrick said. “I tried to get her keys, but she wouldn’t give them to me.”

When Penobscot County Deputy Sheriff Roy Peary arrived, Herrick went to speak with him. Suddenly they heard the sound of squealing tires and looked up to see Brandolini speeding off, then make a right hand turn into the guard rail, Herrick said.

The car then caught on fire. Bangor police Officer Kerry Libby arrived and helped Herrick extinguish the fire. Brandolini had been knocked unconscious and lay across the front seat, Herrick said. The air bags had deployed, and the front end of the car was demolished. The fire department arrived and extricated Brandolini through the passenger side door of the vehicle, Herrick said.

Brandolini was bleeding from the head and taken by ambulance to Eastern Maine Medical Center, Herrick said, but he could not release any more details about her injuries.

Brandolini has a lengthy history of driving offenses, including a suspended driver’s license, Herrick said.

Police are awaiting a determination of her medical condition before deciding whether charges will be filed.