Maine

Woman Accused of Fatal Hit-and-Run on Baseball Field Held on High Bail

The Maine woman accused of driving her car through a Sanford little league ball field, hitting and killing an elderly man, then fleeing the scene, has been ordered held on $500,000 bail.

Fifty-one-year-old Carol Sharrow of Sanford has been charged with manslaughter in the death of Douglas Parkhurst, 68, of West Newfield.

Sharrow's defense attorney Robert Ruffner said the charge is a Class A crime, punishable by up to 30 years in prison. He offered no explanation or motive for the incident, and said substance abuse did not appear to play a role in the incident Friday evening. Sharrow has two previous convictions for drunk driving.

Cellphone video from Goodall Park shows a maroon vehicle speeding onto the ball field, where a little league team was playing a game. The vehicle appears to round the bases, after people ran out of its path. Witnesses say Parkhurst was hit near a gate, trying to push other people out of the way.

"I think [Parkhurst's] military training kicked in," said his friend, Glenn Emmons. "It was his way of getting everyone out of the way, saving everyone he could."

Emmons lived across the street from Parkhurst for years, and called him his best friend. He is still coming to terms with the sudden and traumatic loss.

"I can't fathom it, to be honest with you," he said, calling Parkhurst a "true hero" and a loving, caring man, who would "do anything for anybody."

Emmons is upset that in his death, people have dug up a dark chapter in Parkhurst's past. Police say Parkhurst confessed to a 1968 hit-and-run in upstate New York that killed 4-year-old Carolee Ashby. The case was cold for decades, and Parkhurst confessed after the statute of limitations expired.

"Everyone has a past," said Emmons. "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

To Ashby's family, Parkhurst's death brings a sense of closure.

"It is sad to say I feel relief, because a person died," said Ashby's sister, Darlene Ashby McCann. "I talked to my pastor about it. I know it's wrong, but I am relieved."

The next step in Sharrow's case is to undergo a mental health evaluation. She is scheduled for a dispositional conference in September. Sharrow did not have to enter a plea Monday.

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