POLAND – A Poland man was charged Wednesday with allowing minors to consume alcohol, and a Lewiston teenager was charged with allowing criminal operation of a car in connection with a Dec. 24 crash that killed six on Route 122.

Investigators said Ryan M. Brissette, 28, of 168 Main St., Poland, allowed a group of at least 10 people under legal drinking age to consume alcohol at his home the night of Dec. 23.

Shortly after midnight, a car carrying four young men left the party and plowed into another vehicle, killing all six people involved. Police at the time described the crash as the deadliest in recent memory.

Killed were driver Michael Cournoyer, 20, of Auburn, and his passengers, Jacob Roy, 20, of Lewiston; Robert Bruce, 19, Auburn; and Matthew Manley, 18, Lewiston. In the second car, 27-year-old Steven Walton was killed along with his fiancee, 25-year-old Laura Caron, both of Poland.

Four people died on impact. A fifth died at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston an hour after the collision, police said. The sixth died hours later at the hospital.

Brissette was charged by the Androscoggin County grand jury Wednesday with allowing a minor to possess or consume liquor. Police were expected to deliver a summons ordering Brissette to appear in court to face the charge.

The grand jury also charged Samantha Renee Montana, 19, of 48 Wood St., Lewiston, with permitting unlawful use of a vehicle. Police said it was Montana who handed Cournoyer the keys to the Nissan Altima shortly before he drove away and crashed.

That charge carries a potential jail term of up to six months.

Almost from the start, police said they believed Cournoyer had been leaving a party with several of his friends when he lost control and slammed into an oncoming car.

Police said Cournoyer was drunk, with a blood-alcohol level of .14 percent, which was later identified as the primary cause of the wreck. He was also driving with a suspended license, according to court records.

For nearly six months, police interviewed friends and family members of the dead, trying to pinpoint exactly where Cournoyer and his companions had been before the fatal crash.

Police also relied on results of toxicology tests, which showed that Cournoyer was drunk while Walton, the driver of the pickup truck, was not.

“All of those facts were presented to the grand jury,” said Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Detective William Gagne. “They heard all that and came to their own conclusions.”

Brissette, whose own driving history includes convictions for drunk driving as well as driving with a suspended license, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. According to a recorded message, his telephone has been disconnected.

District Attorney Norm Croteau said he could not discuss the pending charges against Brissette and Montana. Brissette faces up to 364 days in jail if convicted.