NORWAY – The driver of a loaded logging truck whose license has been suspended since 1999 was charged with drunken driving Monday afternoon after witnesses said he was weaving into oncoming traffic and forcing cars off the road, Norway police said. Inside the truck were two vodka bottles: one empty and one half-empty.
Vaughn A. Hardesty Jr., 41, of Windham, who has 19 prior traffic convictions, nearly toppled the 97,000-pound, 26-wheel truck and trailer as he rounded the corner near Guy E. Rowe Elementary School on Main Street and headed toward Paris, police said. He ignored the siren and flashing blue lights on Police Chief Rob Federico’s cruiser for a few minutes and was eventually cut off near the intersection of Paris and Fair streets.
Officer Duffy Ellsworth said a driver first spotted Hardesty on Route 117 coming from Harrison and reported he was forcing vehicles off the road to avoid being hit. When the logging truck rounded the corner at the intersection of the Harrison Road and Lake Road to head into downtown Norway the truck nearly tipped, police said.
Federico followed Hardesty along Main Street and around the corner by the school before cutting him off next to Dead River gas station at Paris and Fair streets.
Norway police charged Hardesty with operating under the influence, driving to endanger, operating after his license was suspended, and violating bail conditions. Ellsworth said Hardesty has 19 prior traffic convictions.
“He shouldn’t have been on the road,” Ellsworth said. He said Hardesty refused to answer questions after being read his Miranda rights.
Hardesty was driving a truck for William Day Jr. & Sons Inc., a small trucking company in Parsonsfield, according to State Trooper Timothy Turner, who enforces commercial vehicle laws in southern Maine.
Turner said the trucking company, which owns six trucks and employs six drivers, could be charged with hiring an unqualified driver.
But, “right now, there are no charges pending,” he said. “This company has a very good safety rating.”
Hardesty’s Maine license has been suspended since 1999 for operating under the influence, Turner said.
Turner inspected the truck, which was impounded and towed to Greeley’s Garage in Auburn, and discovered some of the straps around the logs were loose. Turner charged Hardesty with operating an unsecured load, operating after being disqualified for commercial driving and driving a commercial vehicle with a detectable presence of alcohol.
Hardesty refused a Breathalyzer test, Ellsworth said, adding police could smell alcohol.
Ellsworth said police found two vodka bottles in the truck: one empty and the other half-empty.
Hardesty was being held in at the Oxford County Jail on a probation hold Monday night, according to jail officials.
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