Deputy on traffic stop in Maine escapes injury when cruiser hit by drunken driver

NEW GLOUCESTER, Maine (AP) — A sheriff’s deputy in Maine narrowly escaped injury when a drunken driver crashed into his cruiser while conducting a late-night traffic stop, officials said Sunday.

Deputy Josiah Cushman was outside his vehicle Saturday night during the traffic stop in New Gloucester when a vehicle driven by a man who’d just left a bar clipped the back of his cruiser, which was parked on the shoulder with its emergency lights flashing, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department said.

The blood-alcohol content of the motorist was three times the legal limit for driving, officials said. Both vehicles were disabled by the crash but neither the motorist nor Cushman were injured, officials said.

The crash remained under investigation on Sunday. The motorist bailed out of jail. It was unknown if he had an attorney.