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University of Maine Public Safety arrested an 18-year-old from Topsham this weekend when he attempted to drive his damaged car drunk through campus.
Burke Hazard was charged with OUI and summonsed by Old Town police for leaving the scene of a property damage accident after he was pulled over by Public Safety near the Maine Center for the Arts Saturday night.
Officer Nelson Feero, who made the initial stop, said he was shocked to see a car in the condition of Hazard’s on the road.
“It catches you by surprise when you see something like this driving at you,” Feero said.
According to Public Safety, the car had sustained extensive frame and tire damage, the rear window was shattered and there was a crack in the driver’s side seat.
“He didn’t really know where he was,” Feero said. “He said he’d come from an off-campus party, and he was looking for a place to park on campus.”
Although Hazard initially claimed he had hit a snowbank after skidding on black ice in the Orono area, it was discovered by Public Safety and Old Town police that the driver had instead smashed his car into a fire hydrant on College Avenue, near the Farm Road.
“He was alone in his car,” Feero said, “and he kept saying he was ‘lucky to have been alone.’”
Tests revealed that Hazard’s blood alcohol level was one and a half times above the legal limit.
It is unclear who Hazard was visiting on campus, and he could not be reached for comment.
Feero said Hazard was originally booked for an OUI offense and brought to Penobscot County Jail; However, Feero said, an officer from the Old Town Police Department later arrived at the jail and issued Hazard the summons for leaving the scene of a property damage accident.
Feero said he wanted to stress to students the dangers of driving intoxicated, and noted the various fines and penalities involved in an OUI conviction.
“There are taxis, late night locals, designated drivers out there,” Feero said. “You shouldn’t risk driving drunk. You could hurt yourself or someone else.”
