ELLSWORTH – A Bangor man was found guilty Monday of fleeing an accident in which he hit and seriously injured a bicyclist in Tremont.

The Superior Court jury of nine men and three women deliberated for 31/2 hours before finding Frederick Ward, 21, guilty of a felony charge of fleeing the scene of a serious injury accident.

Ward was accused of hitting Maureen Smilkstein, 58, of Colorado Springs, Colo., as she rode south on Route 102 toward Bass Harbor on Oct. 1, 2001.

Ward faces up to five years in prison for the felony verdict, he said.

Hancock County Assistant District Attorney Patrick Larson said he was satisfied with the jury’s finding.

Ward’s attorney, Ferdinand “Andy” Slater of Ellsworth, left for Bangor after making his closing arguments in the case Monday morning and could not be reached for comment

Ward is scheduled to be sentenced at 11:30 a.m. today in Hancock County Superior Court.

Smilkstein was treated for cuts and bruises and a fractured finger immediately after the accident but suffered long-term effects from the wreck, according to Larson.

The prosecutor said in his closing arguments that Smilkstein, an avid biker and hiker, has had to undergo back surgery since the accident.

“She still has pain,” Larson said. “She still takes pain medication every day.”

Larson also held up Smilkstein’s bike helmet to the jury and pointed to a crack in it he said was caused by the accident.

“Mrs. Smilkstein was struck from behind and launched through the air from her bicycle,” Larson said. “If she had not been wearing this helmet, there would have been a substantial risk of serious bodily injury.”

Slater said that Smilkstein was hit by a truck, but suggested to jurors her injuries might not have been serious enough to warrant the felony conviction.

Justice Joseph Jabar, the presiding judge, told jurors they had the option of considering a lesser misdemeanor charge against Ward if they found him not guilty of the felony charge.

Slater also stressed that people who saw a blue truck speeding from the accident reported it was a Toyota, even though the truck Ward was seen driving a few minutes later was his father’s Ford. No one saw Ward driving the truck that hit Smilkstein, Slater said.

“That, ladies and gentlemen, is reasonable doubt,” Slater said.

Hancock County Sheriff’s Deputy Ken Mitchell testified Monday that when he later saw Ward, Ward asked him how bad Smilkstein’s injuries were – even though Mitchell had not yet said anything about the accident to him, according to Larson. Mitchell also testified that paint from the Ford matched paint found on the bike’s handlebars.