Police are blaming alcohol for a crash early Saturday morning that injured two people on the Westbrook Arterial.
Police said a Westbrook man drove the wrong way on Westbrook Arterial after an alleged night of drinking and hit a Scarborough woman head on. Both drivers were injured, although police said the injuries were not life threatening, and both cars were totaled.
Richard Crabtree, age unavailable, was driving a 2000 Chevy pickup at the time of the crash. He was charged with operating under the influence, driving the wrong way on a divided highway, and leaving the scene of a personal injury accident.
Westbrook Police Chief Paul McCarthy said he’s still not sure how Crabtree managed to get onto the arterial going the wrong way. The accident occurred at the curve between the Forest Street overpass and the Forest Street onramp in the fast lane of what are normally the eastbound lanes.
Crabtree struck a vehicle driven by Gretchen Schmitt of Scarborough head on in her Ford 4-door. McCarthy said her airbags discharged and potentially saved her from serious injury. Police and fire rescue responded to the scene and took Schmitt to Maine Medical Center for treatment.
McCarthy said Crabtree was not at the scene when police arrived. He apparently left his car, walked up the embankment and over the guardrail to Forest Street and continued to his nearby home. He then called for an ambulance at around 1:40 a.m. He was taken to Maine Medical Center where Westbrook police arrested him.
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