Catastrophic Injuries

November 8, 2009

Mother and daughter fatally injured in Auburn crash

November 7, 2009: Authorities are conducting an investigation in the cause of a crash that killed a mother and daughter in Auburn on Saturday. Police reported that a truck hauling an trailer was traveling eastbound on Minot Avenue when it crossed the center line and stuck a 2003 Oldsmobile that was traveling westbound. The operator of the Oldsmobile, a 36-year-old woman from Auburn was killed instantly. Her 4-year-old daughter later died at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewsiton. The operator of the truck, a 43-year-old man from Norway and a passenger from each vehicle were in critical condition at CMMC Saturday night.

Police did not immediately release any names. The cause of the crash was still under investigation late Saturday.

At Peter Thompson & Associates, our attorneys and crash scene investigators have investigated many similar accidents. Frequently driver inattention or distraction is the cause. For example, an accident we investigated recently turned out to be due to a driver talking on a cellphone. Although the driver initially claimed that he wasn’t talking on the phone immediately before the accident, we were able to obtain copies of his cellphone records which revealed he lied about that important information. The case was successfully resolved.

October 28, 2009

Augusta man seriously injured when hit in crosswalk in Augusta

by Peter Thompson & Associates

October 19, 2009: Andrew Jones, 19, was crossing to the west side of Bangor Street in a crosswalk, when he was struck by a sedan-style vehicle driven by Wendy Peace, 41, of Fairfield. This accident is being investigated by Peter Thompson & Associates. If you have information about this accident, please contact Attorney Peter Thompson at 1-800-804-2004.

October 28, 2009

Head-on collision on Route 15 in Brooklin leaves 5 injured

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Diana Dowse, 59, of Brooklin was headed south on Route 175 about a mile south of the High Street intersection at about 4:25 p.m. when her vehicle collided head-on with a pickup truck operated by Timothy Sawyer, 42, of Brooklin.

Dowse was taken by ambulance to Maine Coast Memorial Hospital in Ellsworth.

Sawyer and three passengers in his vehicle, Caleb, Timothy and Ethan Sawyer were taken to Blue Hill Memorial Hospital for treatment.

September 22, 2009

September 20, 2009: Portland crash kills 18 year old passenger

by Peter Thompson & Associates

The crash happened in Portland around 2:30 a.m. Sunday. Police say a Ford Mustang driven by 21-year-old Yannick Mulongo of Portland crossed the center line on a street, hitting a Chevy Impala and several utility poles.

Police say the 18-year-old killed was a passenger in the car driven by Mulongo. His name is not being released until next of kin can be notified.

The Impala was driven by 31-year-old Fartun Aden of Portland.

September 22, 2009

Crash in Elliotsville injures 3; Coburn Roberts arrested

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Coburn Roberts, 26, was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants and operating after suspension. He is expected to make his initial court appearance on Oct. 26 in 13th District Court in Dover-Foxcroft.

Roberts was at the wheel of a Chevrolet pickup truck that left the road in Drew Valley in Elliotsville at about 8:14 p.m. Saturday, according to Investigator Jamie Kane of the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department. Elliotsville is between Monson and Willimantic. He said the driver lost control of the vehicle and it went down an embankment.

Kane said Roberts left the vehicle despite the fact his three passengers were injured. He said the three passengers — Steven Roberts, 37, of Guilford; Kirk Thornley, 24, of Monson; and Konrad Thornley, 27, of Bradley — were taken by ambulance to Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft and Kirk Thornley was later taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

September 19, 2009

Three Vehicle Crash in Littleton

by Peter Thompson & Associates

James Westerdahl, 75, of Littleton, was in serious condition at Eastern Maine Medical Center today after a three vehicle crash on North Street early on Wednesday evening. According to the Bangor Daily News, Westerdahl was driving southbound in his GMC truck, lost control of the truck and swerved into the northbound lane, directly into the path of an oncoming tractor trailer.

The tractor trailer was driven by James Sprague, 57, of Nobleboro. Sprague attempted to swerve when he saw Westerdahl coming toward him, but he couldn’t get out of the way in time and the two vehicles collided.

Meanwhile, Melissa Radatv, 25, who was following Sprague’s truck, saw what was happening and attempted to avoid the crash. But pieces of debris struck her truck and she careened off the road.

September 17, 2009

Head on crash in Freeport leaves one driver severely injured

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Wednesday, September 16, 2009:sA two-car, head-on collision occurred on Route 1 in Freeport near the Exit 24 ramp that provides access to Interstate 295. Police said the cars were traveling in opposite directions at the time of the accident, which took place around 3:45 p.m.

Police said one of the drivers was treated at the scene and released, but the second driver had to be transported by ambulance to Maine Medical Center in Portland with injuries that are not considered life threatening.

The cause of the accident has not yet been released. Anyone with information about this accident should contact Attorney Peter Thompson at 1-800-804-2004.

September 3, 2009

Route 17 accident in Dixfield leaves one person dead

by Peter Thompson & Associates

One person is dead in Franklin County after a serious accident involving a tractor-trailer, a sedan and a pickup truck.

It happened on U. . Route 2 Thursday afternoon. Route 2 is shut down from the Route 17 intersection in Dixfield to Morrison Hill Road in Carthage.

Investigators say a person in the sedan was dead at the scene. Four people in the pickup truck were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. The driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured.

September 3, 2009

Hannah Clifford, 9, and several others suffer serious injuries in Brooks, Maine, crash

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Sheriff’s deputies and rescue personnel were credited with saving the life of a young girl after they lifted her mother’s wrecked van from atop her after a two-vehicle crash Sunday night.

Hannah Clifford, 9, of Brooks was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor with serious injuries after the van she was riding in with her mother and three siblings was hit broadside by a pickup truck that apparently ran a stop sign.

According to news reports, the accident occurred at 7:58 p.m. at the intersection of Route 139 and Bog Road. A pickup truck driven by John Pellitier, 21, of Unity was reported to have ran the Bog Road stop sign and struck the passenger side of a van driven by Andrea Clifford, 40, of Brooks.

August 21, 2009

Michael Lewis, 16, killed in crash in Tremont, Maine

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Michael Lewis of Bass Harbor was killed in the crash that occurred near the Rumill Road intersection. Lewis was driving a pickup truck that crashed head-on with another pick-up truck. The other truck was operated by Dacota Dow, 19, of Bar Harbor. Authorities reported that the two vehicles collided in the center of the road.

Two passengers in Lewis’ vehicle, Erin Hanley, a teenager from Tremont, and her brother Patrick, 10, were taken by ambulance to MDI Hospital in Bar Harbor with injuries that were not life-threatening.

Troopers from the Maine State Police remained on the scene into the evening investigating the accident.