“Tucker made threats of going to a residence in Windham and causing harm,” Goulet said.
Deputy Joseph Dyer stopped Tucker at the intersection of Routes 302 and 35. Tucker sped off when the deputy asked him to pull into a nearby parking lot, Goulet said.
The area is a dense commercial zone with five traffic lanes bordered on both sides by strip malls.
Dyer pursued Tucker, but stopped following him a half-mile later, after Tucker began driving recklessly at a high speed, Lt. David Hall said in an interview Sunday. The crash happened about 3 miles north of where Tucker was first stopped.
Investigators are reconstructing the accident to find how fast Tucker was speeding, Hall said.
When officers use a pursuit termination device, like a spike mat, other drivers are supposed to be kept far away from the area to avoid crashes, according to Hall. In this instance, everything happened too quickly and there were not enough officers available to do that, he added.
“Usually, when spike mats are deployed, it is rapidly unfolding,” Hall said. “We try to make it as safe as possible. If the suspect just drives over the strips, it is not a problem; if he tries to go around it or take other action, it becomes a problem.
“The spike strips does not cause someone to lose control of their vehicle; they deflate the tires very gradually so they can keep control over the vehicle,” Hall added.
“Him crashing was not caused by the spike strips, but was caused by him overcorrecting.”
One of the cars Tucker hit was a 2000 Buick Park Avenue driven by Barbara Young, 82, of Gray, Goulet said. Young and her passengers, Elmer Young, 91, and Douglas Young, 60, were taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland with serious injuries. Tucker was still in custody at the hospital late Sunday afternoon, Goulet said.
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