CANTON – A Jay man wanted for failing to go to court on a driving-under-the-influence charge was arrested Friday after he sideswiped a car on Route 140 and landed in a ditch, according to police. A loaded gun with a bullet in the chamber and a bag of marijuana was found by police in his new Jeep.

John J. Tardif, 53, of 27 Marcello St. crossed into the southbound lane while rounding a curve and sideswiped a 1995 Chevrolet Silverado King Cab pickup driven by Darlene Therrien, 33, of Jay, Maine State Police Trooper Kyle Tilsley said.

After striking Therrien’s truck, which she had pulled off the road to avoid a collision, Tardif’s Jeep nose-dived into a drainage channel filled by Wednesday night’s downpours.

“I saw (Tardif) coming around the corner on my side of the road as I was coming down the road,” said Therrien, who was limping after the wreck. “I veered over and came to a stop off the road and he kept coming at me.”

“It was the closest call I ever had,” said Barbara Dalot of Wilton, Therrien’s grandmother and one of two passengers in the truck. The other passenger was Dalot’s daughter, Joan Jackson, also of Wilton.

“After he went into the ditch, he was trying to get his Jeep out of it and drive away,” Therrien said. Tardif climbed out of the half submerged Jeep Wrangler and went to her truck, she said.

“After the wreck, he was sitting on my truck and he thought he was still in his Jeep. He was very incoherent,” Therrien said.

Therrien said she was going to go to a hospital to have her injured leg checked.

No one else was apparently injured in the accident.

While a Maine Department of Transportation crew directed traffic, Canton firefighters retrieved a few personal items from the Jeep for Tardif, who kept trying to return to his vehicle.

Tilsley then led Tardif to his cruiser and put him in the front seat.

However, after finding a loaded revolver and bag of marijuana, Tilsley handcuffed him and placed him in the back seat.

He was arrested on an outstanding warrant from Rumford District Court for failure to appear on a charge of operating under the influence. He was transported to Oxford County Jail in Paris. Additional charges may be filed, Tilsley added.

Assistant Fire Chief Mark Blanchette said when Tilsley found the loaded gun with a bullet in the chamber its was a wake-up call for firefighters to approach scenes with caution.

Wade Atwood of Atwood’s Wrecker Service in Jay freed the bright red Jeep with Arizona plates from the mud and water, which filled the driver’s side floor area. It was partially covered with mud and vegetation and didn’t appear to be damaged in the 1:30 p.m. wreck. It was loaded onto a flatbed wrecker from Jim’s Recovery and Towing of Jay.

Atwood towed Therrien’s truck, which had a dented running board and bed body panel and a shattered wheel hub.

Two-lane traffic resumed by 3 p.m.

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