Inattention causes five-car I-95 crash

Driver inattention caused a five-car accident on Interstate 95 at 5 p.m. Sunday.

Motorists merging into a construction zone on I-95 from Stillwater Avenue and facing a setting sun crashed into one another, resulting in an average of $3,000 to $4,000 in damage to each vehicle involved in the accident, according to Maine State Police Trooper Daniel Ryan. No one was injured in the crash.

The first car in the chain stopped because of congested traffic, but the next two vehicles did not see the stopped car, causing a three-car accident. The fourth car in the line stopped in time to miss the chain, but the fifth did not, slamming into the back of the fourth vehicle, Ryan said.

No charges were filed, and traffic was reduced to one lane as a result of the accident, Ryan said. (Toni-Lynn Robbins, BDN)

A Hampden man was arrested in Orono Saturday night and faces 10 different charges.

Edward Gastaldo, 21, had six warrants for his arrest, including one for aggravated forgery, a Class B felony, when he was detained, according to Chris Greeley, a Holden police officer.

On Aug. 5, Greeley summoned Gastaldo in Holden for possession of a usable amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, but at the time he gave police a fake name. A few days later, police learned Gastaldo’s correct identity and realized there were five warrants for his arrest, Greeley said.

Gastaldo’s warrants, the first dating back to June, were for charges of failure to appear on operating after suspension and violating conditions of release, failure to appear for a theft by unauthorized taking, failure to appear for unlawful trafficking of scheduled drugs, theft by unauthorized taking and failure to appear after being bailed, according to Greeley. All warrants were issued by different agencies in the area, he said.

After learning his real identity, Holden issued a warrant for the Class B felony of aggravated forgery because Gastaldo signed the August drug summonses using a fake name. After his arrest Saturday, Holden added the two drug charges, violating conditions of release and failure to give a correct name to a police officer to his list of offenses.

Gastaldo remained at Penobscot County Jail on Sunday night, probably because he was unable to pay the more than $6,000 cash bail required, Greeley said. (Toni-Lynn Robbins, BDN)