BOWDOIN
A man who rolled his Buick and fled through the woods was apprehended with the help of a police dog and hospitalized Saturday.
Charges are pending against Kevin King, 31, of Bowdoin. Police said they tracked him through dense woods for more than a mile before arresting him. One police officer sustained minor injuries in the foot chase.
King’s 2005 Buick LeSabre was traveling south on West Road before 9:32 p.m., Saturday, according to Cpl. Ian Alexander of the Sagadahoc County Sheriff ’s Department, when he left the roadway and struck some trees near 785 West Road.
Witnesses in another vehicle called for help, and reported to police when they arrived that the driver had announced he was leaving but didn’t say where, Alexander said.
Alexander said a firefighter reported hearing a noise in the woods. Alexander and the county’s police dog, Brix, checked the area, he said, but picked up no scent.
Alexander and Sagadahoc County Sheriff ’s Deputy Steve Thibeault then found footprints in the soft shoulder of the road.
Alexander said he, Brix and Thibeault were running south parallel to West Road and likely pursued King about 1 1/2 miles through dark, thick woods. Along the way, they spotted blood, and Brix began pulling harder.
“We were moving fast,” Alexander said. When the dog detects a scent, “you kind of duck for sticks and twigs.”
They crossed a dirt road and followed King into a swampy area, Alexander said.
Richmond police Officer Rita Marquis, who was part of the pursuit, reported she had found King, who was cut from running through the woods in shorts and had sustained lacerations to the head and a knee in the crash, Alexander said. King was taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.
Charges are pending blood results. Alexander said alcohol appears to be a factor in the crash. Alexander also sustained scrapes on his arms and head during the track.
The Bowdoin Fire Department was careful not to contaminate the scene before he arrived, Alexander said, so Brix could more easily pick up King’s trail. dmoore@timesrecord.com
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