AUBURN – A police officer who allegedly crashed his car into a truck while off-duty in November has been summoned to appear in court on a charge of drunken driving.

Mitchell Sweetser, 41, was given a summons to appear in May to answer the charge.

At about 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 21, Sweetser’s vehicle struck another when he drove into the intersection at Hampshire Street and Union Street Bypass, according to a police report.

The 2002 Dodge Neon he was driving, a vehicle owned by Euro Motors of Lewiston, slammed into a Nissan pickup truck driven by 25-year-old Nathan Taylor of Auburn.

Sweetser was unconscious at the scene and suffered a cut to his head, police said. Taylor and his passenger, Amber Cyr, 20, of Hartford, both complained of soreness from the impact but refused treatment.

Sweetser was taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston where he remained overnight. Police said there were indications that the off-duty officer may have been drinking.

To avoid the appearance of conflict, an investigation was handed over to the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department, which issued the summons after toxicology showed that Sweetser’s blood-alcohol level was over the legal limit, according to police.

Sweetser, an 18-year veteran of the Auburn Police Department, has been suspended without pay since early February, according to deputy police Chief Jason Moen.

An Oxford County assistant attorney general has been assigned to follow up the investigation.

The case could be presented to a grand jury before the trial date.