Summoned for Assault in the Emergency Room.
Apr 22, 2026
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BAR HARBOR—A Bangor man who allegedly was speeding on Route 3, Saturday night, before smashing head-on into a Bar Harbor/Mount Desert police cruiser at approximately 9:16 p.m., has been charged with attempted murder.
The suspect, Maine State Trooper Hunter Fernald wrote in his report, was Riley McClure, 22, of Raymond, Maine.
Attempted murder is just one of many charges McClure faces after the collision by the Chart Room Restaurant on Route 3, in Hulls Cove, a village in Bar Harbor.
Trooper Fernald wrote that Bar Harbor Police Officer Judson Cake had tried to stop the speeding Impreza by Hamilton Station, which is by Hamilton’s Pond on State Highway 3.
Officer Cake told Trooper Fernald that he had used radar to clock the car at 75 mph and when he turned to follow, the black 2014 Subaru Impreza “took off.” The speed limit in the area is 45 mph.
With Officer Cake’s lights and sirens on, the cars continued through Hulls Cove toward Bar Harbor proper at speeds between 58-60 mph, Officer Cake said.
While driving through Hulls Cove Officer Cake, radioed to his dispatchers that he was in a vehicle pursuit. Officer Cake could see Officer Nathan Formby’s cruiser. The cruiser was partially in the breakdown line and partially in the appropriate lane and facing the oncoming chase.
The emergency lights of Officer Formby’s vehicle were activated.
“Officer Cake stated that Officer Formby’s cruiser looked as though he was at a dead stop, and the Impreza looked like it intentionally struck Officer Formby’s cruiser,” Trooper Fernald wrote. “Officer Formby stated as the pursuit approached his location, that is when he saw the Impreza swerve into his cruiser.”
A tow truck driver and his passenger also witnessed the crash. The driver had been parked there before heading to his next tow and had just opened the door to his cab when the crash happened, he told the Bar Harbor Story.
Initial emergency scanner traffic said McClure sped by School House Hill on Route 3 and then lowered his speed, but was still speeding, through Hulls Cove moments prior to the crash.
“Call an ambulance. He just hit 415, head-on,” Officer Cake said over the radio.
Fire personnel on scene treated Officer Formby whose call number is 415. His left arm was scraped from the deployment of the cruiser’s airbag.
A Bar Harbor ambulance had taken McClure to the hospital after the collision.
McClure was already at Mount Desert Island Hospital when Trooper Fernald arrived. Bar Harbor Sgt. Soren Sundberg told Trooper Fernald that McClure was being treated for internal injuries and leg pain.
Trooper Fernald said that the Impreza had heavy front end damage, that airbags had deployed in the car, but that there was also “two empty alcohol cans on the passenger floorboard.”
“I also took note of a dash camera that was attached to the center of the windshield. I also noticed that the Impreza’s speedometer needle was stuck at ’58 MPH.’” Trooper Fernald wrote.
The Bar Harbor Mount Desert police cruiser, a 2022 Ford Explorer, that had been driven by Officer Formby was heavily damaged in its front end as well. Airbags had deployed in the Explorer.
Ellsworth Police Department’s Sgt. Chad Wilmont conducted accident reconstruction that night and the next morning. There was a detour around the site while he worked.
“Deputy Jennings came back to the scene, as he had cleared earlier to assist BHPD at the hospital with Riley, as he was assaulting medical staff,” Trooper Fernald wrote about a member of the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department who had also responded. “Deputy Jennings advised me while he was at MDIH, Riley stated he was driving to Bar Harbor to commit suicide, and then got into the chase. Riley stated once he saw Officer Formby’s cruiser he swerved into it.”
McClure was medically cleared to leave the hospital on April 19 and was arrested and taken to Hancock County Jail. McClure is on probation out of York County. He is on a probation hold at the Hancock County Jail and will likely have a probation revocation hearing in the near future.
In addition to the probation hold, McClure’s bail is currently set at $50,000 cash or $100,000 surety and his next scheduled court date for these charges is scheduled for August 13 at 2 p.m., at Ellsworth District Court.
An affidavit in support of probable cause filed by Assistant District Attorney Delwyn E. Webster said there was cause to charge Riley D. McClure (DOB 5.1.2003) with attempted murder, Class A; two counts of aggravated assault, Class B; assault on an officer, Class C; eluding an officer, Class C; three counts of aggravated criminal mischief, Class C; reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, Class C; driving to endanger, Class E; failure to stop for an officer, Class E; and criminal speed, Class E.
McClure was also summonsed later Saturday night for allegedly assaulting staff at Mount Desert Island Hospital.
Bar Harbor Police Officer Virginia Helton summonsed Riley McClure, 22, of Bangor, with a charge of assault in an emergency room, a Class C felony.
In November 2022, WMTW reported that a Riley McClure, 19, of Raymond, Maine had allegedly refused to stop for a sheriff’s deputy after making an unsafe pass on the River Road in Windham.
“The detective did not chase the vehicle, but spotted it again a short time later when the vehicle spun out near Majestic Heights. Police say the driver again sped away and the detective still did not chase,” the station wrote. “Police say the car crossed the center line about a mile later and hit an oncoming pickup truck. The driver of the Volkswagen, Riley McClure, 19, of Raymond, was taken to Maine Medical Center with serious injuries. The driver of the truck was being treated for what police called non-life-threatening injuries. Police said speed and unsafe driving were factors in the crash.”
A weekend release by the Bar Harbor/Mount Desert Police Department had said of McClure’s Saturday accident, “The Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Police Department attempted to stop a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed on State Route 3 in the area of Hamilton’s Pond.”
“Officer Nathan Formby was in the Hulls Cove area of State Route 3 and was attempting to assist in positively identifying the offending vehicle’s registration plate and getting the vehicle stopped,” the Bar Harbor Police Department said.
Officer Formby had been responding from the direction of downtown Bar Harbor toward the oncoming pursuit when the Subaru smashed into the front of the police cruiser. He’d taken out his spotlight, Trooper Fernald said, to try to get the license plate number on the Impreza.
“As Officer Formby arrived in the area of Eden Street (State Route 3) and Crooked Road, with his blue emergency lights activated, the vehicle was traveling towards Officer Formby’s location. The vehicle entered the oncoming lane and struck the Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Police cruiser that Officer Formby was operating,” Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Police Chief David Kerns said.
All photos except for the booking photo: Shaun Farrar/Bar Harbor Story.
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