DURHAM — Peter Dale, 35, of Gray was charged with drunken driving after he was found unconscious in his car in a snowbank on Quaker Meetinghouse Road early Tuesday morning.

A passer-by spotted Dale’s car off the road in a snowbank at 1:27 a.m. Tuesday, according to Maine State Trooper Daniel Hanson. Indications at the scene showed Dale’s car had drifted across the oncoming lane into a snowbank and back across the traveling lane before coming to a stop in the snow at 253 Quaker Meetinghouse Road. 

Hanson said it could have resulted in a serious accident but for the fact that it is not a heavily traveled road.

Further investigation indicated that Dale had left Brunswick at 10:30 p.m. Monday and went off the road in Durham at approximately 11 p.m. and was passed out in his car for about 2½ hours before police were notified. The car was not running, Hanson said.

Gray was taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston by Durham Fire and Rescue where he was treated for exposure to cold. When released, he was taken to Auburn Police Department where a Breathalyzer test was administered 5½ hours later.

Hanson issued Dale a summons to appear in 9th District Court in May on the OUI charge.

There was no damage to his 1994 Mercury Topaz.