November 23, 2024
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Bail revoked, Caribou truck driver stays in jail

PORTLAND – A Cumberland County Superior Court judge on Friday ordered Caribou truck driver Scott Hewitt to remain in jail without bail.

Hewitt has been held in the Aroostook County Jail since his arrest in Presque Isle last Saturday for driving on a suspended license and other charges.

That arrest came eight days after a fatal crash in Hallowell where his tractor-trailer crushed another car, killing the driver. The crash is under investigation.

Earlier this week, Superior Court Justice Ellen Gorman granted a motion by Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson to revoke the $1,000 bail Hewitt posted the day of the fatal crash on a charge of operating after suspension.

Anderson wanted the bail revoked because Hewitt failed to appear in Cumberland County Superior Court in April on various charges last August.

Hewitt was charged Aug. 3, 2004, with logbook violations and marijuana possession, according to the District Attorney’s Office. At the time, police also found several safety violations with Hewitt’s tractor-trailer and placed out-of-service stickers on it.

The next day, Hewitt was charged with removing the out-of-service stickers, officials said.

Friday’s hearing before Justice Robert Crowley gave Hewitt a chance to be heard on his bail revocation.

Anderson said that Hewitt has shown a “disregard for the law.”

“The only way to prevent Mr. Hewitt from breaking the law is to confine him,” she said. “To do otherwise would allow him to continue to thumb his nose at the court.”

Since the July 29 accident that killed 40-year-old Tina Turcotte of Scarborough, Hewitt has been held up as an example of how many Maine drivers with multiple offenses continue driving after their licenses are suspended.

Hewitt has 63 driving convictions on his record and has had his license suspended 23 times, according to Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap.


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