AUBURN — A high-speed chase that started downtown Sunday night and wound its way out to Minot and back into Auburn ended the way police wanted, according to Deputy Chief Jason Moen.
"It was a textbook chase," Moen said. "It ended safely, all the proper rules and regulations were followed and nobody got hurt."
Police arrested Richard Labonte, 36, of Auburn on felony charges of eluding an officer and operating a motor vehicle after having his license revoked for being a habitual offender and for reckless conduct.
Moen said officers observed a vehicle heading the wrong way down a one-way portion of Pleasant Street near the Androscoggin County Jail at about 9 p.m. They tried to pull the vehicle over, but the driver headed up Court Street and onto Minot Avenue.
The chase, reaching speeds of up to 80 mph, led police out of Auburn along Minot Avenue, onto Empire Road and back into Auburn and past the Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport on Lewiston Junction Road.
Police placed a spike strip on Hotel Road just beyond the Littlefield Bridge and Labonte's car hit it. With the car's tires flattened, the driver turned onto Merrow Road and onto Fletcher Road, finally stopping at about 174 Fletcher Road.
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I used to wonder.......
I used to wonder, every time I read one of these stories, why do these revoked drivers all get caught. Well after reading this one, it hit me. Their license got suspended or revoked in the first place, because their really bad drivers. Not to smart, you might say. You would think that when a person has a revoked license, he might try to avoid bringing attention to himself. Now, I can say this as an ex professional driver, I'm not a lawyer mind you, but driving the wrong way, on one of the very few one way streets in town, A street that also houses the Sheriffs Department, and Jail, might not be a good idea. Not what I would consider, keeping a low profile. Then trying to out run all those radios, well that just amplifies the stupidity.
I would think an intelligent person would ask themselves, would I rather spend thousands of dollars in legal fees and fines, or twenty bucks on a cab for the night? I would hope the intelligent ones will make the right decision. All the rest wind up on Fletcher Road, with four flat tires........
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In my twenties, I had a phase of expensive fender-benders, traffic stops and not keeping up with the registration and inspections on my car. I felt very sorry for myself as a single working mom, struggling to care for my disabled child, that all of these accidents and bills were happening to me, and why all these users and thieves were preying on my emotions and finaces. When I finally stopped directing so much of my energy into retribution and self-pity, bad people gradually dropped away because I was no longer of any use to them. I had more time for good decisions and keeping up with my obligations. I stopped having car crashes and moving violations because as my life cleaned up, my brain became more organized.
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