A Canton man was arrested after leading police on a high-speed chase on Interstate 295 that resulted in multiple crashes and two injuries on Friday.
A Maine State Police trooper spotted a black Jeep Renegade that had been reported stolen and had reportedly stolen gas from a Richmond station southhbound on I-295 near mile marker 29 at around 9:10 a.m., according to Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss. When the trooper attempted to perform a traffic stop, the driver, 32-year-old Shane Dame, took off at high speeds.
The trooper went in pursuit of Dame, but ceased the chase at around mile marker 29 in Freeport because it would have posed a danger to other drivers.
Dame continued southbound, causing a minor crash at mile marker 17 in Yarmouth. He continued past Yarmouth before crashing into a vehicle and a guardrail at mile marker 11 in Falmouth according to Moss.
The occupants of the vehicle involved in the Yarmouth crash were not injured, but two occupants of the vehicle involved in the Falmouth crash were transported to a local hospital from the crash site.
Dame left the crash site in Falmouth, running away from the vehicle and into the woods to Hamilton Marine on Presumpscot Street in Portland, where he entered the business’ bathroom and attempted to call a car, Moss said. While Dame was in the bathroom, store employees notified police and Dame was arrested before being transported to the Cumberland County Jail.
Dame has been charged with eluding officers, driving to endanger, excessive speeding by exceeding the speed limit by 30 mph or more, leaving the scene of a crash and operating a vehicle after his license had been suspended.
An investigation is ongoing.