A routine traffic stop for Damariscotta Police Officer Michael Elwell turned into a low-speed chase and, eventually, the safe return of a disoriented, 85-year-old man to his Portland home.
Elwell, a 13-year veteran of the Damariscotta Police Dept., was on patrol the afternoon of Oct. 21 when he received an erratic operations report.
The vehicle was reported traveling north on Rt. 1 in Newcastle, so Elwell responded to the Damariscotta-Newcastle town line. As soon as the car went by, crossing the center line as it did so, he turned on his lights and sirens.
The driver did not stop, continuing nearly to the intersection of Back Meadow Road and Rt. 1 in Nobleboro at a speed of about 35 mph.
When the driver did pull to the side of the road, part of the car was still in the travel lane, Elwell said.
He asked the elderly male driver for his license and told him to pull completely onto the shoulder. Instead, as Elwell returned to his cruiser, the man pulled back into the road and continued toward Waldoboro, driving 25-30 mph and straddling the white line.
The surprised Elwell stopped the car again about a mile north. This time, he secured the man’s car keys.
The man appeared confused and upset and told Elwell he was on his way from Portland to visit his son in Bangor.
He was unable to provide Elwell with contact information for any relatives, but eventually, the officer noticed a tag on the driver’s key chain for an assisted living facility in Portland.
A nurse at the facility recommended taking the man to a hospital for a check-up.
Elwell did so, and some time later the hospital called him back to tell him the man checked out physically, but should not be driving. There was another problem, however. No one was able or willing to pick him up.
Elwell, after running the situation by the police chief, drove the grateful man home to Portland at the end of his shift.
The next day, Elwell received a call from the man’s physician, who was unaware that the man had been driving. The doctor thanked him for recognizing the man’s situation and taking him home.
The elderly man, during the long drive home, told Elwell he hadn’t had much cause to interact with law enforcement during his life. “It was the most pleasant experience he’s had,” Elwell said.
