WINTHROP, Maine — A Waterville man is accused of leading police on a chase across two towns in Kennebec County after stealing a fuel oil truck early Tuesday morning.
Shortly before 8:30 a.m., police received a report of a burglary at Winthrop Fuel located at 26 Peck Farm Rd., the Winthrop Police Department said in a news release.
Police determined a burglary had occurred at Winthrop Fuel at about 4:30 a.m. when an oil delivery truck was stolen from inside the business's garage.
A Maine fire marshal discovered the stolen truck at about 11:52 a.m. in the area of Norris Hill Road and Route 202 in Monmouth, according to the release. The fire marshal then followed the truck until a Monmouth police officer was able to pull up behind the truck and activate the cruiser's emergency lights and siren. The truck refused to stop, though, and continued on Route 202 toward Winthrop at 45 MPH, the release stated.
Before the stolen truck returned to Winthrop, two Winthrop police officers set up near the Winthrop/Monmouth town line, and one of the officers was assigned to deploy a spike mat to attempt to stop the truck, the release said.
Shortly before 12 p.m., a Winthrop police officer approached the chase, but the truck swerved into their lane trying to hit the cruiser, police said. The spike mat did not prove to be successful, and the stolen truck continued toward Winthrop, swerving into oncoming lanes of traffic in the process.
Then, the stolen truck made a left turn onto Main Street and then another left turn onto Highland Avenue where it almost struck two other vehicles traveling in the opposite direction, the release stated. Traveling down Highland Avenue, the truck eventually made a right turn onto Route 202 back toward Monmouth.
As the stolen truck approached the intersection of Route 202 and Route 133, it struck the back of a truck that was hauling a cargo trailer, according to police.
"The stolen vehicle then made an abrupt left-hand turn onto the Route 133 off-ramp heading in the wrong direction," the release said. "The stolen vehicle then lost control and rolled over onto its side."
Following the crash, the suspect exited the vehicle and fled the scene on foot. He was later apprehended at about 12:03 p.m. after an investigator with the state fire marshal's office, as well as Monmouth and Winthrop police, located him at the intersection of Abbott Lane and Route 133, the release stated.
Police identified the suspect as Paul Hatch, 37, of Waterville. Hatch was taken by ambulance to MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta. Once medically cleared, officials said he would be taken to the Kennebec County Correctional Facility.
At the time of the crash, the stolen truck was carrying approximately 1,100 gallons of kerosene and no. 2 fuel oil, police said. Winthrop Fuel responded to the scene and offloaded the fuel oil before it could leak and potentially damage the surrounding environment.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal, Maine State Police, Winthrop Fire Department, and Winthrop Ambulance Service assisted Monmouth and Winthrop police in this incident.
Route 133 was shut down for about three hours while an investigation was conducted.