Police recently arrested a Farmington Falls man after he allegedly led them on a car chase from Skowhegan to Fairfield.

On Friday night, Ernest Nault, 43, of Main Street, Farmington Falls, already was being pursued by Skowhegan police when he drove his Buick into Fairfield on U.S. Route 201, where Fairfield Officer Matt Wilcox clocked him traveling at 103 mph, according to Fairfield Police Chief Tom Gould.

Wilcox radioed Sgt. Paul St. Amand, who was two miles down the road, near the intersection of U.S. 201 and Ohio Hill Road. St. Amand immediately rolled a set of road spikes across the highway.

The Buick sailed over the road spikes with such speed that the string normally used to drag the spikes off the road broke, and the spikes were knocked askew. Before St. Amand was able to get the spikes off the road, a Fairfield police cruiser ran partially over them, deflating two of its tires.

With all four of the Buick’s tires ruined, Nault pulled over and surrendered himself to police.

“Nobody was hurt,” Gould said. “There was almost no traffic whatsoever on the road.”

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Details about how the pursuit started in Skowhegan were not immediately available. Gould referred questions about how the chase began to the Skowhegan Police Department, but the Skowhegan command staff didn’t return calls immediately seeking comment Tuesday.

Fairfield police charged Nault with passing a police roadblock, a class C felony punishable by up to 5 years’ incarceration and a $5,000 fine; and speeding 30 mph or more above the speed limit, a class D misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.

He also was charged by Skowhegan police with attaching false license plates, eluding an officer, theft by receiving stolen property and failure to register a motor vehicle.

Nault is in custody at the Somerset County Jail in East Madison and has a scheduled court date of March 12.

Matt Hongoltz-Hetling — 861-9287 mhhetling@centralmaine.com Twitter: @hh_matt


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