A New Harbor man pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a fatal collision he caused on New Year’s Eve 2021 while driving under the influence of alcohol with a 6-year-old boy in the back seat.
Robert G. Campbell, now 41, pleaded to one count each of manslaughter, a Class A felony, operating under the influence of alcohol – death, a Class B felony, and endangering the welfare of a child, a Class D misdemeanor, in the crash that killed 69-year-old Karen McCubbin. A fourth charge of OUI – injury was dismissed.
According to an affidavit from Deputy Jeffrey Rogers, of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Campbell had been driving southbound on Route 130 with the child in the back seat around 12:30 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2021 when he crossed the centerline and struck McCubbin’s Toyota Corolla head-on.
McCubbin’s car rolled over and came to rest upside down off the roadway and Campbell’s pickup also continued off the road, court documents said. McCubbin died on scene.
McCubbin was a physical therapist in Lincoln County for over 30 years and had two daughters, according to her obituary.
Campbell and the child were transported to LincolnHealth’s Miles Campus in Damariscotta with non-life-threatening injuries.
A witness later told Rogers that he saw Campbell’s pickup driving “erratically” and had to swerve into the other lane to avoid being hit head-on, then watched in the rearview mirror as he went into the oncoming lane again, hitting McCubbin’s car, which then flipped.
A detective from the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office reconstructed the crash as part of his investigation, which was consistent with the witness’s report, according to the affidavit.
Campbell was wearing a seatbelt and airbags deployed. McCubbin was not wearing a seatbelt, according to a press release from the LCSO the day after the crash.
According to court documents, Campbell told an officer he had consumed three 16-ounce cans of Budweiser beer in the five hours before the crash. One open can was found in the car. Campbell’s blood alcohol level was tested at 0.183 grams per 100ml, over the legal limit of 0.08.
A sentence hearing for Campbell is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 13 at the West Bath District Courthouse.
