Maine State Police are searching for an unidentified man they say is a threat to public safety after he led police on a chase Tuesday morning.
The police chase started shortly after 9 a.m. on Route 1A, when the unknown driver refused to pull over for a traffic stop in Dedham, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss said. Police had received a report of the car driving erratically.
The driver made a U-turn and started speeding toward Holden, Moss said. He turned onto Route 46 and headed north, before turning west onto Route 9.
He pulled into a parking lot in Eddington, hit a parked vehicle and caused a crash that took down a power line. The chase went for about 12 miles, according to Google Maps directions.
State police shut down Route 9 for about two hours as Versant Power repaired the line.
Shortly after the crash, police learned a pickup truck had been stolen from an Eddington home about a quarter mile away. The truck was in the owner’s driveway and the unknown man pulled the driver out of his vehicle before stealing the truck, Moss said. The owner was not injured.
The stolen pickup was seen at Peavey Manufacturing Company by a witness. The unknown man stole a 2017 black Toyota Camry with the keys in the vehicle from the parking lot.
Police did not release the license plate of the stolen vehicle that has not been located.
Anyone with information is asked to call Penobscot Regional Communications Center at 207-973-3700.
