AUGUSTA — A Farmington Falls man whose vehicle crashed into the Dollar General Store in Litchfield Friday evening was in court Monday via video from the Kennebec County jail, charged with driving to endanger and violating conditions of release.
Nicholas Aaron Osgood, 33, formerly of Saco, was arrested after the crash and his bail was initially set at $5,000 cash.
His passenger, Sheri Barrett, 25, of Litchfield, told investigators she had been huffing Ultra Duster — compressed air typically used to remove dust from keyboards — and gave Osgood a hit and he passed out, according to an affidavit by Kennebec Sheriff’s Deputy Aaron Moody.
Moody said he was called to the store parking lot at 5:57 p.m. Friday and found Litchfield Fire and Rescue workers helping a 25-year-old woman who had been Osgood’s passenger.
Osgood, who was shirtless in the parking lot, told Moody that he did not remember what happened.
“All Nicholas could remember was waking up and seeing damage to this (Chevrolet Malibu) and the Dollar General Building,” Moody wrote.
Moody reported finding tire marks and vehicle debris indicating the vehicle had been westbound in Route 126 when it crossed the center line, drifted south across the lawn of the Litchfield Country Store, and hit a utility pole guy wire.
The vehicle then crossed Hallowell Road, traveled through a ditch and onto the Dollar General lawn, striking the northeast corner and “causing extensive damage to the structural integrity of the building’s frame,” Moody wrote.
Two witnesses, one of whom was reportedly standing less than 15 feet away when the building was struck, told Moody the vehicle had been traveling about 50 miles per hour, and that the two had to get Osgood to remove his seatbelt and get out of the vehicle because he didn’t want to move.
The building was evacuated.
On Monday afternoon, store manager Tammy Porter said that the building had been cleared and she was in the process of reopening it. Plywood panels covered the damaged area.
No one at the store was hurt in the incident.
“The employees are all safe, thank God,” she said.
Sarah Baril was working at the Litchfield Country Store Friday when the car struck the Dollar General across the street.
“We were just starting to get really busy around 5:30 or 6,” Baril said. “And I just heard a big boom, like something blew up.” For a second, she wondered if something had happened with the store’s gas tanks, because she saw smoke.
As she made her way to the door to see what going on, Baril said, a man running toward the Country Store told her to call 911.
What happened wasn’t immediately clear, she said. The vehicle that hit the side the building appeared to have spun into the building.
Baril said the dispatcher she spoke to on the phone asked if another car was involved, but she couldn’t see one.
“I saw the woman crawl out of the car,” she said. “She looked like she was pretty banged up.”
Baril is also a medical assistant and is CPR-trained, so she started across the street until she saw a woman wearing scrubs arrive at the scene.
Then she saw the driver get out of the car, take off his shirt and put it under the woman’s head.
Route 126 is a busy road, she said, where people often drive too fast or try to pass other vehicles where they shouldn’t.
“On any given day, any time of day there are five or 10 people over there (at Dollar General) walking around or in cars,” she said.
Barrett, who suffered injuries to her right hip, was taken to MaineGeneral Medical Center by ambulance where she was treated and released that day, a hospital spokesman said on Monday. Barrett told Moody at the hospital that she had used two cans of Ultra Duster before calling Osgood for a ride to Walmart where she purchased four more cans of Ultra Duster.
She told Moody she gave a can to Osgood, “who took one hit and ultimately passed out, causing them to crash,” Moody wrote. “Based upon the evidence on scene it appears Nicholas was not alert during the crash, as there were no signs of braking throughout the crash scene.”
The company that distributes ULTRA Duster said on its website that the spray “contains a bitterant additive that discourages potential abusive and misusage of the product by making its contents unpleasant to inhale.”
Photos from the crash scene on file at the courthouse show tire tracks on grass, a vehicle with a crumpled front end damage and cracked windshield, as well as bottles of Twisted Tea and cans of Ultra Duster.
Barrett and Osgood were both charged with unlawful possession of inhalants, a civil violation which carries penalties of $100-$300 for a first offense and/or public service work.
Osgood was on bail conditions from a previous arrest. He was taken initially to MaineGeneral Medical Center for blood tests and because he complained of pain. He was then taken to the jail.
Staff writer Jessica Lowell contributed to this report.
Betty Adams — 621-5631
Twitter: @betadams
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