Wells woman charged in crash that killed two

PORTLAND – A Wells woman was charged Wednesday with two counts of manslaughter and aggravated drunken driving in last month’s wrong-way crash on the Maine Turnpike that killed two people in a limousine.

Police said at the time that Donna Bartlett, 38, was driving her sport utility vehicle south in the northbound lanes when it collided with the northbound limo at Mile 14 in Ogunquit, killing the limo driver, James McLaughlin, 65, of Gorham, and a passenger, 15-year-old Cooper Campbell of Scarborough.

Campbell’s father, Steven Campbell, 48, was injured in the crash.

Police said they smelled alcohol on Bartlett’s breath and a blood test showed that her blood alcohol content was above the 0.08 legal limit for driving in Maine.

Bartlett was released on $10,000 bail pending an initial court appearance Monday. Her bail conditions bar her from using or possessing alcohol or drugs and driving a motor vehicle.

Investigators said Bartlett got on the turnpike the night of April 28 at the Wells interchange and went the wrong way on the northbound exit ramp. She allegedly traveled five miles in the wrong direction before her Chevrolet Tahoe collided with the Lincoln Town Car in the center lane.

Bartlett suffered a broken ankle in the crash.

After state police were alerted to a vehicle headed in the wrong direction, Trooper Philip Alexander caught up with the SUV on the opposite side of the median and was using his emergency lights and siren to try to get the driver’s attention when the crash occurred at about 11 p.m.

Steven Campbell and his son were returning home from Boston’s Logan Airport.