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AUBURN, Maine (AP) — All three defendants in a Halloween-themed hayride crash that killed a teenager and injured more than a dozen other passengers pleaded not guilty Thursday in their first court appearance.
The driver, 55-year-old David Brown of South Paris, and a farm mechanic, 38-year-old Phillip Theberge of Norway, appeared in court to enter their pleas to reckless conduct. A Portland attorney represented Harvest Hill Farm of Mechanic Falls, which is charged with manslaughter, aggravated assault, driving to endanger and reckless conduct.
A judge in Androscoggin County Superior Court allowed Theberge and Brown to be released on personal recognizance, with no bail conditions.
Harvest Hill Farm faces potential fines of $170,000, along with the potential of restitution, if convicted on all counts, said Michael Whipple, who represented the farm. The reckless conduct charges against the individuals are misdemeanors and carry a possible penalty of up to 364 days in jail.
The hayride, called the Gauntlet Haunted Night Ride, went out of control and overturned while traveling downhill, killing 17-year-old Cassidy Charette and injuring about 20 other riders.
Authorities have said it appears a mechanical problem caused the hayride accident.
In an affidavit, investigators contended farm owner Peter Bolduc, who was not charged, ignored employee warnings that the Jeep was in bad shape, the Sun Journal reported.
But Bolduc told the newspaper that the employees who claim he knew about the Jeep's poor brakes were lying. Bolduc said he passed two polygraph tests and is adamant that he did not know anything about the Jeep's condition.
Farm employees Casey West and Lisa Philbrick, who witnessed the accident, told investigators they heard the driver sway "I can't stop!"
According to an affidavit of Maine Fire Marshal senior investigator Daniel Young, a review of the Jeep indicated that a brake line had been recently installed on the driver's side rear brake system "and that the reservoir that holds the brake fluid for the rear brakes was empty." The Jeep's inspector also reported that certain brake parts were left or were not properly installed, the newspaper reported.
The company that owns the property on which the farm buildings are located has filed for bankruptcy, citing personal injury claims as a liability.
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