An apartment building at 185 College Ave. in Waterville was damaged Monday night when a pickup truck traveling at high speed hit a utility pole and then the building, police say. Amy Calder/Morning Sentinel
WATERVILLE — A pickup truck traveling at high speed Monday night on College Avenue left the road, destroyed a utility pole and crashed into an apartment building, according to police.
The driver, Michael Brawn, 32, of Bowdoin was summoned after the crash and charged with displaying a fictitious or altered inspection sticker, Detective Sgt. Lincoln Ryder of the Waterville Police Department said Tuesday.
Brawn is scheduled to appear March 7 at Waterville District Court, Ryder said.
The crash occurred as Brawn was traveling northbound on College Avenue just after 8 p.m. As he approached Cottage Street, Brawn lost control of his 2002 Dodge pickup, left the road on the east side, hit the utility pole at the intersection just south of Cottage Street, continued across that street and hit the apartment building at 185 College Ave., Ryder said.
Brawn and a passenger were taken by Waterville Rescue to Thayer Center for Health on North Street with injuries not deemed life-threatening, according to Ryder, who declined to identify the passenger because the person was not charged.
The pickup truck was inoperable and towed from the scene, Ryder said. The utility pole was destroyed and had to be replaced by a crew from Central Maine Power Co.
The speed limit on that stretch of College Avenue, near Pro Moving Services, is 35 mph, according to Ryder.
Workers from Consolidated Communications transferred lines to the new pole Tuesday. Wires, tree branches and other debris lay on the lawn of the damaged building.
Scott Brockway, who owns the three-unit apartment building, estimated the damage to the building was in the tens of thousands of dollars.
When the pickup hit the building, it pushed in a wall, damaging the baseboard, a window and frame and vinyl siding, according to Brockway.
He said the truck hit the side of the building where a bedroom is located, but the tenant was not inside at the time.
Scott Edwards, 61, lives at an apartment building just to the south of the damaged building and said when the crash occurred, he heard wood crumbling and the utility pole snap. He said he looked outside and saw a streetlight on the ground.
“I’m like, ‘Holy smokes — whoa,'” Edwards said.
Police and other emergency workers arrived quickly at the scene, where wires were hanging in the road, he said.
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