AUBURN – A local man pleaded not guilty in court Thursday to a charge that he left the scene of an accident in which a woman fell off the back of his motorcycle and later died of her injuries.

John Ferland, 32, of 69 Marshall Ave., told Androscoggin County Superior Court Justice Kirk Studstrup that he understood the charge as well as his rights.

Ferland stood beside his attorney, Leonard Sharon, during the brief arraignment. Studstrup set bail at $2,000 unsecured bond. If Ferland fails to show up in court, he will owe the county the money.

A trial was set for Aug. 7, 2007.

The case drew media attention because Ferland and another man following on his motorcycle apparently left the woman after she fell while Ferland was rounding a sharp curve on Fairview Avenue on his 2004 Harley-Davidson.

Through his lawyer, Ferland said he left the scene because he thought the woman was only drunk and was being tended to by a resident on that street.

Irene Douglas, 36, of Rosedale St., Lewiston, was found bleeding and with head injuries about 1 a.m. on July 24, according to a police report. She wasn’t wearing a helmet when she fell off the bike.

She died from her injuries less than a month after the accident.

She was married and the mother of one daughter and three sons.

On the night of the accident, she got a ride from Ferland at the then-Midnight Blues Club at Main and Court streets in the city’s downtown. The club has since closed.

Ferland told police that Douglas “appeared to fall asleep and became very sloppy” on the back of his bike.

The second rider, Scott Soulard, 36, of Old Orchard Beach, also was charged initially with a class C felony for leaving the scene of the accident. Ferland was later indicted by an Androscoggin County grand jury; Soulard was not.

Soulard laid his bike down in order to avoid hitting Douglas when she fell off Ferland’s bike, police reports said. Soulard had left his name and contact information with the nearby resident.

Both men were Air National Guard members.

Sharon has told reporters that he believes his client was involved in a tragic accident, not a criminal act. Ferland had received assurances before he left the scene that the woman would receive any medical attention she might need, according to statements made by Ferland and Soulard as well as police reports, Sharon said.