BELFAST, Maine — A Verona Island man who allegedly fell asleep behind the steering wheel of his vehicle in the middle of the road early Thursday morning was arrested and charged with operating under the influence.

Jamie D. Moore, 22, originally came to the attention of police about 4:30 a.m. Thursday, when a caller reported that a pickup truck driver was operating erratically on U.S. Route 1, Belfast Police Chief Mike McFadden said Friday. The caller told authorities that they had nearly been hit head-on by the driver, but when a Belfast officer searched for the truck in question, he was initially unsuccessful.





About 20 minutes later, a different person called to report that the same truck was stopped in the middle of City Point Road, at a portion of the route that is notable for being hilly and twisting but not for its ease of visibility. Officer Mike Rolerson handled the call and found the vehicle in the road with two people in it. Both were sleeping, according to the police chief.

Rolerson tapped on the driver’s side window and woke the driver, who later was identified as Moore, McFadden said. The driver then appeared to try to put the truck in gear to leave, he said.

Rolerson then used his heavy flashlight to hit the window hard and ordered Moore to stop the vehicle. But the driver again appeared to want to drive away, and Rolerson hit the window a second time with his flashlight, McFadden said. Finally, Moore stopped the vehicle, and the officer opened the door, reached in and put it in park, the police chief said.

Rolerson could smell alcohol, McFadden said, and noticed “numerous signs of impairment.”

Moore was arrested and taken to the Waldo County Correctional Center to be booked. There, Moore was given a breath test and his blood alcohol content level measured 0.15 percent, or nearly double Maine’s legal limit of 0.08 for operating a vehicle.

In addition to the criminal charge, Moore was issued summonses for having a fictitious inspection sticker and for operating a defective motor vehicle.

His passenger, who also allegedly was intoxicated, was not charged in the early morning incident.