ROCKLAND – A Camden woman who was driving a vehicle that veered off of Route 1 and rolled over several times over a guard rail and down and embankment June 11 has been charged with criminal OUI, three counts of endangering the welfare of a child and driving to endanger. One of the passengers in the vehicle was a six-month-old baby.

Amanda Rankin, 27, of Camden, was released on $750 bail after she was charged by Rockport Police, according to court documents. 

The crash occurred at approximately 8 pm. and according to Rockport Police, a witness called dispatch previous to the crash to report a vehicle travelling southbound on Route 1 that was operating erractically. Rockport Officer Cooper Plaisted arrived at the scene after the vehicle had crashed. Before the vehicle could be stopped, the Jeep hit a guardrail and veered diagonally across Route 1.

According to court documents, another adult passenger in the vehicle, Benjamin Rankin, 26, attempted to leave the scene of the accident with the youngest child with the intention of taking the child to the hospital even thought he was told an ambulance would arrive shortly.

Once at the ER, Rankin left with the baby and was found by Rockport Police across the street, hiding behind a dumpster at the gas station. Rankin was later arrested for disorderly conduct when he began yelling after he was escorted back the ER, according to the police report.

When police asked Amanda Rankin if she remembered how the crash happened, she stated that she only remembered waking up in the hospital. Approximately five hours before the accident, she admitted telling her husband that she was feeling dizzy, said court documents. Rankin told police she did not drink and was only taking her prescribed medications, according to court documents.

Rankins’s urine test after the crash confirmed that she had drugs in her system, including a depressant, which supported the observations of police at the crash scene that she appeared impaired, according to court documents.

Rankin will make her next court appearance on Aug. 24.

Related story: Route 1 Rockport crash sends family of five to hospital; father arrested

Sarah Shepherd can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com