Waldoboro woman charged on multiple counts following crash that cut power to Rockland

Melinda Polky and Holly S. Edwards
Sat, 12/14/2013 - 12:00pm
Nearly 700 customers in Rockland were without power for about three hours Friday night, following a car crash on Camden and Main streets (Route 1) near the Scale House and Steel Pro. (Photo by Melinda Polky)
(Courtesy Rockland Fire Department/by Alan Athearn)
CMP is on the scene of the accident in Rockland Friday night that took out this pole and knocked out power for neighbors in the area of Steel Pro and the Irving. (Photo by Melinda Polky)
The red Nissan can be seen next to pole, below where the CMP worker is working from inside a bucket truck. (Photo by Melinda Polky)
(Photo by Melinda Polky)

    ROCKLAND — The driver involved in a crash Friday night that took out power to many homes and businesses in Rockland has been charged with allegedly operating under the influence, operating without a license, and possession of schedule W and Z drugs.

    Schedule W drugs refers to amphetamines, cocaine, heroin and similar opiates; Schedule Z, marijuana and some prescription drugs.

    The single-vehicle crash near the Scale House at the intersection of Camden and Main streets and Front Street knocked out power to a large number of customers in that area of Rockland. The accident occurred just above Steel Pro, which sits down the hill near the waterfront.

    According to Rockland police, Aleisa DeMichael, 38, of Waldoboro, was traveling south on Main Street near Front Street. DeMichael left the roadway, traveled across the parking lot of the Scale House, and hit a utility pole.  Her vehicle, a 2011 Nissan Frontier, severed the pole and came to rest against a tree at the top of a steep hill.  DeMichael was trapped inside the vehicle briefly due to down power lines, according to the report.

    With assistance from Rockland firefighters and ambulance personnel, DeMichael exited the vehicle and Rockland EMS transported her to Pen Bay Medical Center, in Rockport. She was later taken to the Knox County Jail, in Rockland.

    “Due to the precarious placement of the vehicle against a building and overlooking a steep incline, it was not conducive for us to do a normal, full extrication and she was able to be assisted to self-extricate,” said Asst. Fire Chief Adam Miceli. “The car was not really stable where it came to rest.”

    The truck was considered a total loss.  Power to a section of Rockland was disrupted due to this accident for a while until Central Maine Power was able to repair the damage, which included a severed pole and a downed transformer.

    “CMP thought they would able to restore power to most of the area by bypassing the pole, but even then it will take them quite some time to repair it and get electricity back on,” said Miceli, just after the crash.

    Of CMP’s 4,625 customers in Rockland, 673 were without power due to the accident.

    Editorial Director Holly S. Edwards can be reached at hollyedwards@penbaypilot.com or 706-6655.

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