POLAND – Two people, including a man accused of allowing minors to consume alcohol at his home, have been charged in a crash that killed six people early on Christmas Eve 2006.

Ryan M. Brissette, 28, of Poland allowed a group of at least 10 people under the legal drinking age to consume alcohol at his home the night of Dec. 23, according to investigators from the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department.

The driver accused of causing the two-car collision near midnight was one of those who had been drinking at Brissette’s home, investigators said.

Brissette was indicted Wednesday on a charge of allowing a minor to possess or consume liquor, which carries a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail.

Also, Samantha Renee Montana, 19, of Lewiston was charged with permitting unlawful use of a vehicle. That charge carries a penalty of up to six months in jail.

Sheriff’s department investigators said Montana gave the keys to her Nissan Altima to Michael Cournoyer, 20, of Auburn shortly before he drove away and crashed.

Cournoyer died along with his three passengers, Matthew Manley, 18, and Jacob Roy, 20, both of Lewiston, and Robert Bruce, 19, of Auburn. Also killed were the occupants of the other car, Steven Walton and his fiancee, Laura Caron, both of Poland.

Cournoyer was legally drunk with a blood-alcohol content of 0.14 percent when his vehicle veered into the path of an oncoming car on Route 122, investigators said. He also was driving with a suspended license, according to court records.

Brissette’s own driving history includes convictions for drunken driving as well as driving with a suspended license, authorities said.

From the beginning, investigators suspected that Cournoyer and his three friends had been attending a party. Detectives spent months conducting interviews as they pieced together what led up to the fatal collision.

The grand jury returned its indictments on Wednesday.

“They heard all that and came to their own conclusions,” said Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Detective William Gagne.