A Wiscasset man is facing criminal charges after allegedly trying to use his car to run over a 10-year-old boy on a bicycle.
David Lee Stinson Jr., 35, is charged with driving to endanger and operating after suspension after allegedly hitting the boy’s bicycle and knocking the child to the ground, said Wiscasset Police Chief Troy Cline. Stinson is free on $1,000 cash bail.
Nobody was injured in the incident, Cline said.
Police went to Whippoorwill Hill Mobile Home Park around 7:30 p.m. June 15 in response to a report of a boy who had been hit by a car while riding his bicycle. Witnesses, including the boy’s mother, said Stinson intentionally veered into the bike.
“Based on the witness statements, if the witness statements are correct, then this is a very dangerous situation that occurred,” Cline said.
The incident is the latest in an ongoing dispute between the boy’s mother and Stinson and Stinson’s girlfriend, Cline said. The families have children about the same age.
“For whatever reason, they don’t want their sons to hang out together,” Cline said. “There’s been complaints back and forth between these two parties. It’s not the first time we’ve dealt with an issue involving the mom, the suspect and the suspect’s girlfriend.”
Stinson, who was driving a 2006 Hyundai Azera, reportedly drove into the bicycle’s back tire, throwing the boy to the ground, away from the bicycle. He then allegedly backed the car up onto the bicycle’s back tire.
Stinson left and went back to his home inside the park. He was arrested an hour later after police had spoken to witnesses, Cline said. Stinson could face additional charges, including leaving the scene of a crash, once the district attorney’s office reviews the case, Cline said.
Even if Stinson didn’t hit the bicycle intentionally as witnesses claimed, his actions would warrant a charge of driving to endanger, Cline said.
“He was operating carelessly,” Cline said. “The alleged actions of the suspect resulted in a situation where the child could have been seriously injured or even killed.”
Cline said the incident is similar to a road rage incident in which a person acts before thinking through the potential consequences.
“Just stop and think for a minute, ‘What’s this going to do? What’s this going to accomplish? Am I putting someone’s life at risk?’ ” he said.
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