AUGUSTA (AP) – A Manchester man faces numerous charges, including driving without a license, following an accident in which another driver had to be airlifted to a hospital.

Steven Van Shola was ordered held without bail after appearing in court Friday to face 16 charges that include aggravated criminal operating under the influence, aggravated assault, reckless conduct and driving to endanger.

The case against 36-year-old Shola develops as the Legislature considers ways to get unlicensed drivers off the road.

The push for tougher laws was triggered by a fatal accident last summer involving a trucker with a lengthy record of suspensions and traffic offenses.

Shola’s driving record includes six suspensions in Maine, the most recent in 1996 for operating after suspension. Records show Shola has no valid Maine license.

One charge against Shola involves failing to tell police he was on probation when he was arrested Jan. 9 following a crash in Augusta.

Shola was charged with operating without a license and released on $100 bail in connection with that crash.

Shola was again arrested the day after the Jan. 26 crash in which 17-year-old Stefanie Owen of Readfield suffered severe facial injuries.

Owen was driving to school at the time of the crash.

On Friday, District Attorney Evert Fowle asked a Kennebec County Superior Court judge to hold Shola without bail. Shola’s attorney, Seth Levy, said he plans to ask the court to approve bail at a later date.

In a motion to revoke Shola’s probation, Fowle listed the latest accident as well as charges of operating without a license, violating conditions of release, and unlawful possession and use of controlled drugs.

Prior to the two car accidents this month, Shola had been on probation for a burglary conviction in Augusta in 2002. He was scheduled to stand trial in Massachusetts on a breaking-and-entering charge from 1990.

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Information from: Kennebec Journal, http://www.kjonline.com/

AP-ES-02-04-06 1009EST