BAR HARBOR, Maine (AP) - The district attorney’s office says a Virginia motorist drove a “vast” number of miles with little rest before a fatal crash in a restaurant parking lot in Bar Harbor, Maine.
Police say they charged 36-year-old Justin Shell of Rockingham, Virginia, with manslaughter, driving to endanger, and reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon because he knew he was weary at the time of the crash on Tuesday. Court documents indicated he also may have suffered a medical problem.
A judge set bail at $5,000 Wednesday during his initial court appearance.
Seventy-six-year-old Connie Birkenmeier of Bar Harbor was killed and several vehicles were damaged when Shell’s pickup drifted off Route 3 and into the parking lot of the Chart Room restaurant.
The defense contends the crash was a tragedy, not a crime.
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