The man accused of providing alcohol to two teenagers who were killed in a car accident in Boothbay, Maine, is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Friday. 21-year old William Gerardi of Connecticut is charged with furnishing alcohol to a minor.
At the crash scene on Route 27 in Boothbay on Thursday, there were flowers, along with a cross bearing the names of the accident victims. The Lincoln County Sheriff's Department says 19-year old Casey Dalton of Boothbay was driving at a high rate of speed, lost control and went off the road into a stand of trees. Dalton and his 17-year old passenger were both killed. The Sheriff's Department is not releasing the name of the passenger because he's a juvenile.
Lt. Rand Maker says the investigation led them to Gerardi, who he says met up with the two young men earlier in the evening, bought the alcohol at a store in Boothbay Harbor and later gave it to them at a house in Boothbay. At some point after that, around 3:00 Wednesday morning, the crash happened and both teens were killed.
As of late Thursday afternoon, Gerardi was still being held at the Two bridges regional Jail in Wiscasset, and expected to make an initial court appearance on Friday. He is charged with Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor, which Lt. Maker says is a Class C felony.
Both victims are from the Boothbay peninsula, and the principal of Boothbay Region High School says many young people knew them. He says the 17 year old victim is a former student at the high School. Officials at Wiscasset High School confirmed that Dalton had attended that school.
