A high-speed car chase that began when a Freeport man sped away from a traffic stop around midnight Monday in Cumberland ended with a crash that damaged several cars and a Yarmouth business, police said.
Anthony Lane, 21, was driving Monday night on Tuttle Road when a Cumberland police officer noticed his license plate light was out, according to Cumberland Police Chief Charles Rumsey.
The officer made a U-turn and began to follow Lane’s car, which was operating erratically, Rumsey said.
When the officer activated his flashers to pull the vehicle over, Lane at first complied, police said. But when the officer got out of his cruiser to approach Lane’s car, he sped off.
Lane was driving his mother’s 2008 Dodge Avenger, and allegedly reached speeds of 100 mph during the pursuit. The officer twice discontinued high-speed pursuit when it became dangerous, but continued to follow Lane, who turned onto Route 88 heading toward Yarmouth.
When Lane failed to negotiate a turn his vehicle struck highway signs and plowed into three parked cars, which in turn damaged Reed’s Machine Shop in Yarmouth, police said.
Police arrested Lane without incident.
Lane was found not to be impaired, Rumsey said, but police determined he was operating without a license.
He was charged with one count of eluding an officer, a felony; and three misdemeanors: criminal speeding, driving to endanger and operating without a license. Lane was booked at the Cumberland County Jail and released after posting bail.
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