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James Andrew Black

Age : 27

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 09/18/2021

Location : 610 Main Road

City : Phippsburg

County : Sagadahoc

State : Maine

Agency : Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office

Officer(s) :Zac Kindelan; John Dietlin

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Driver killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
Investigation of an unexplained 911 call. Dispatchers traced a 911 call to the area of Meadowbrook and Basin roads after hearing indistinct voices and engines revving but receiving no response from the caller. Deputy Zac Kindelan located a parked SUV in the area. Police said the vehicle drove away when Kindelan turned around to investigate, and Kindelan activated his emergency lights and siren and attempted to stop it.
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EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 09/18/2021, 27-year-old James A. Black of Phippsburg was killed after crashing his 2007 GMC Envoy into a utility pole during a Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office pursuit in Phippsburg.
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Shortly after 10:00 p.m., the Sagadahoc County Regional Communications Center received a 911 call originating near Meadowbrook and Basin roads. Dispatchers could hear indistinct voices and engines revving but could not get anyone on the line to answer their questions. Authorities later said the call originated from inside the vehicle Black was driving, although they did not establish who placed the call.
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Deputy Zac Kindelan was sent to investigate and located Black’s GMC Envoy parked on Meadowbrook Road. When Kindelan turned his cruiser around to investigate, police said Black drove away. Kindelan activated his emergency lights and siren and attempted to stop the SUV. Black continued driving away while Kindelan pursued.
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During the pursuit, Kindelan reported seeing numerous baggies being thrown from the SUV. Police said pursuit speeds exceeded 60 mph as the vehicles traveled toward Main Road. Investigators later recovered several of the discarded baggies, including at least one containing a white powder, and described the recovered material as illegal contraband.
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Deputy John Dietlin positioned a spike mat near the intersection of Basin Road and Devil’s Highway in an attempt to stop the SUV. Black drove over the device, puncturing and deflating at least one tire, but continued driving. He turned onto Stoneybrook Road and then traveled north on Main Road.
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Shortly afterward, the GMC left the roadway and struck a utility pole near 610 Main Road. Black was alone in the SUV. Emergency personnel extricated him from the wreckage, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
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No PIT/TVI maneuver or intentional contact between a police vehicle and Black’s SUV was reported. The spike mat deployed by Dietlin was the documented police intervention immediately preceding the final portion of the pursuit. Public reporting does not provide the precise distance between the spike deployment and crash, Black’s speed when he lost control, or whether the deflated tire contributed directly to the loss of control.
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Black was a 27-year-old Phippsburg resident. Available contemporary reporting about his death provides little information about his family, occupation, education, interests, or how he was remembered outside the circumstances of the pursuit.
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Maine State Police conducted the crash reconstruction. Contemporary reporting identified Kindelan as the deputy who initiated and continued the pursuit and Dietlin as the deputy who deployed the spike mat.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Deputy Zac Kindelan was identified as the Sagadahoc County deputy who initiated the pursuit after responding to the unexplained 911 call. Deputy John Dietlin deployed the spike mat that punctured at least one tire on Black’s vehicle.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.centralmaine.com/2021/09/19/phippsburg-man-killed-in-crash-during-high-speed-police-chase/
https://www.pressherald.com/2021/09/19/phippsburg-man-killed-in-crash-during-high-speed-police-chase/
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/me/maine/news/2021/09/20/maine-man-dies-in-police-chase-after-crashing-into-pole
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2021/09/20/midcoast/maine-man-dies-in-police-chase-after-crashing-into-pole/
https://www.wmtw.com/article/suspect-of-high-speed-chase-dies-after-crashing-into-telephone-pole/37654231
https://www.wabi.tv/2021/09/19/suspect-high-speed-chase-dies-after-crashing-into-telephone-pole/
https://www.pressherald.com/2019/07/15/sagadahoc-county-sheriffs-deputy-arrested-charged-with-aggravated-assault-2/
https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/01/15/man-killed-in-crash-after-police-chase-in-woolwich/