Two vehicles collided Friday during whiteout conditions. Two
people, one passenger from each vehicle, were taken to the hospital with
injuries not considered life-threatening.
FEBRUARY 21, 2015
BRIDGEWATER, MAINE
Five people suffered injuries that were not life-threatening
in separate accidents Friday afternoon after wind and snow combined to create
hazardous driving conditions on Route 1, according to police.
The accidents occurred on Bunker Hill between 4 p.m. and 5
p.m., Maine State Police and the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Department
indicated Saturday in separate statements.
According to Sgt. Brian Harris of Maine State Police, the
first accident occurred around 4 p.m. when a 2014 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck
driven by Daniel Thibeault, 51, of Lewiston had become stuck in a drift where
Route 1 crests the hill. Just as Thibeault and his family freed their truck
from the snow with help from a nearby resident, Brandon Greaves, 30, of
Littleton, was driving a 2007 Toyota sedan up the hill behind them in whiteout
conditions, Harris indicated.
Greaves could not see the truck, and the two vehicles
collided. Two passengers, one from each vehicle, were injured and were brought
to Houlton Regional Hospital after emergency medical responders arrived at the
scene, Harris wrote.
Both drivers were wearing seat belts, police indicated, but
additional information about the passengers was unavailable Saturday. Harris
did not indicate the extent of damage to the vehicles involved.
According to Aroostook County Sheriff Darrell Crandall, the
second accident occurred about 45 minutes later in the same location.
A 2013 Kia sedan driven by Michael Fortenberry, 47, of
Cranston, R.I., was stopped in a line of cars that had come to a halt because
of the first accident when it was rear-ended by a 2005 Dodge pickup operated by
Real Oakes Jr., 45, of Presque Isle.
“Whiteout conditions on top of Bunker Hill at the time were
causing significant visibility issues and Oakes’ vehicle struck Fortenberry’s
stopped vehicle,” Crandall wrote.
Fortenberry and his passengers Eric O’Connor, 30, and a
6-year-old girl were taken to Houlton Regional Hospital with injuries believed
to be non-life threatening, according to the sheriff. Oakes and his passengers
Stacy Dwyer, 42, and a 15-year-old girl, were not reported to have suffered any
injuries, he said. All six people were wearing seat belts.
According to Harris, the road was closed for approximately
three hours while emergency personnel dealt with the people involved and the
vehicles, causing traffic to back up in both directions.
Maine Department of Transportation plow trucks were called
to the scene to remove the drifting snow and treat the road surface, according
to Harris.
“Several tractor-trailers were not able to travel up the
hill due to the icy roads,” the trooper wrote.
In addition to the two police agencies, fire departments
from Bridgewater, Mars Hill and Monticello, Crown Ambulance, and Cowetts Auto
assisted at the scene, police indicated.