MACHIAS – A 34-year-old Brewer man who was charged with aggravated assault in connection with a motorcycle accident last year that seriously injured his female companion appeared in Washington County Superior Court on Monday.

Daniel McDonald entered pleas of not guilty to aggravated assault, aggravated criminal operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants, and driving to endanger.

The Washington County grand jury handed up the indictment in January.

The accident happened on June 24, 2007, at the intersection of Toll Bridge Road and Route 190 in Eastport. According to Eastport Police Chief Matt Vinson, McDonald was in the city visiting his mother.

McDonald and his passenger, Erin Frost, were coming off Toll Bridge Road when his 2004 Harley-Davidson motorcycle crossed Route 190 and slammed into the guardrail.

“He never turned either way, he was actually airborne when he crossed Route 190,” Vinson said Tuesday.

McDonald and Frost were thrown from the motorcycle.

They were taken by ambulance to a local hospital. McDonald suffered a broken leg, while Frost ended up with numerous injuries that required a long hospital stay, Vinson said.

In court Monday, McDonald appeared with his attorney, Jeffrey Toothaker of Ellsworth. Toothaker told the judge that McDonald was in the U.S. military and had a tour of duty in Iraq. “His unit is being reactivated and he is still awaiting to see what his assignment will be,” Toothaker said Tuesday.

Justice E. Allen Hunter set bail at $10,000 unsecured. Among the bail conditions were abstaining from intoxicants and agreeing to random searches by police. McDonald also is not allowed to operate a motor vehicle.

bdncalais@verizon.net

454-8228