A car careened onto a Maine field during a boys’ baseball game Friday night, striking and killing a man and sending screaming ballplayers and bystanders fleeing, police said.
Sanford police said the car drove through an open gate at Goodall Park onto a ballfield, hitting Douglas Parkhurst, 68, of West Newfield, before attempting to speed away. Parkhurst died on the way to the hospital.
None of the players were injured.
Police arrested Carol Sharrow, 51, of Sanford, and charged her with manslaughter. She was taken to York County Jail in Alfred, where she remained on Saturday. Efforts to contact an attorney for Sharrow were unsuccessful.
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Sanford police Detective Sgt. Matthew Jones said Sharrow has a drunken driving conviction in Maine and an aggravated drunk driving conviction in New Hampshire, the Portland Press Herald reported . Authorities declined to say whether alcohol was involved on Friday.
Witnesses said that before Sharrow entered the park she tried to drive onto the basketball court across the street but couldn’t get past big boulders lining the court. They said Parkhurst was trying to close a gate when he was hit.
“We want to share our heartfelt gratitude that physically all of our players from Babe Ruth and Little League are safe,” the Sanford Maine Little League said in a Facebook post.
The league’s leaders called for the community to support the young players and on Saturday about 100 people turned out for a morning game, where the Salvation Army distributed free water and coffee.