Oil trail leads to suspect in hit-and-run

LAKE VIEW PLANTATION – Moments after his car hit a boy riding an all-terrain vehicle, breaking the teenager’s wrists, the car’s driver stopped to make sure the victim was alive, then drove away.

But the maroon Subaru left a trail of oil in its wake – a leak caused by the impact.

“It was those drops of oil that troopers and wardens followed for about 12 miles,” Maine State Police spokesman Stephen McCausland said Friday.

Apparently the driver, identified as Matthew Gifford, 42, of Springfield, was driving without a license.

Gifford was caught with two others about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, sleeping in a tent behind an abandoned house along U.S. Route 2 in Mattawamkeag, approximately 20 miles from the crash site.

“He didn’t want contact with police” because of the infractions, McCausland said.

Gifford was charged with leaving the scene of a personal-injury accident. He also faces a number of other charges, including operating after suspension of his driver’s license.

The Subaru was rounding a corner about 8 p.m. Tuesday when it crossed into the path of an ATV ridden by Brunswick resident Glen Richardson, 13, who was driving down a private dirt road.

Richardson was thrown up onto the Subaru’s hood, then fell to the ground. He was wearing a helmet but suffered two broken wrists and other injuries, McCausland said.

“He tried to get back on his ATV, but he couldn’t” because of the injuries, he said.

The teenager hobbled along the dirt road until a passer-by picked him up and took him to his grandfather’s camp.

Richardson, who is the son of John Richardson, Maine’s commissioner of economic and community development, was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor for treatment.

An EMMC official said Friday that the hospital had no information on Richardson.

A team of state troopers and wardens worked throughout the night following the oil trail and searching for a maroon vehicle, their only lead.

Gifford was found at the informal campsite with two other people. Winn resident Daniel Johndro, 38, was arrested for an outstanding warrant for a drug violation. The woman was not charged.

“There is no indication this was intentional,” McCausland said. “I suspect [Gifford] was driving too fast and not paying attention, and the boy was there and they slammed into him.”

Gifford was transferred to Penobscot County Jail, where he remained Friday night. He had his first appearance in 3rd District Court in Bangor on Thursday. His case was transferred to Penobscot County Superior Court, and Aug. 10 was the tentative court date set, a jail official said.