Biddeford Man Leads Police On Chase With Toddler In Vehicle

Police say a Biddeford man led officers on a chase that ended in a crash on the Maine Turnpike, and they say his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter was in the vehicle at the time.

After the man's SUV crashed at the Saco exit, he ran off into the woods, leaving his child behind, state police said in a news release Thursday.

The girl, who was in a child safety seat, was not injured. Troopers discovered her still strapped in her seat in the backseat. After a quick check at the hospital, the girl was released to her mother.

The girl's father, Michael Messier, 25, was charged with eluding a police officer and violating his bail. He was transported to the York County Jail in Alfred.

Police said Messier’s GMC Terrain was clocked travelling at 111 mph on the turnpike in Portland just before 9 p.m. on Wednesday.

He lost control of the vehicle at the Saco exit, where it went down an embankment.

Messier allegedly fled into the woods and troopers and Saco and Biddeford police were unable to locate him.

He was taken into police custody at about 3 a.m. after attempting to wave down turnpike motorists near the crash site.

Messier suffered mild hypothermia and was treated at the Biddeford hospital before being transported to jail.

Messier served time on domestic violence charges, and had been released from jail only days before the alleged chase.