A Jeep Cherokee shows the damage incurred after it struck a rock, flipped over, caught fire, and exploded near 435 Main St. in Damariscotta on Saturday, Feb. 17. Damariscotta Fire Chief John Roberts credited three individuals for their rapid response lending assistance to the operator. (Courtesy photo)
Three local responders drew praise from the Damariscotta fire chief after their efforts extricated an incapacitated man from an overturned, burning vehicle on Saturday, Jan. 17.
The actions of Bristol firefighter Katie Corson, off-duty Emergency Medical Technician Vlade Sherrill, and Damariscotta Police Officer William “Billy” Smith, collectively spared the individual from further harm, Damariscotta Fire Chief John Roberts said in a press release on Sunday, Jan. 25.
According to Roberts’ account, the incident began sometime after 5 p.m. on Jan. 17 when Corson encountered a Jeep Cherokee stopped in the middle of Damariscotta’s Main Street near its intersection with Rice Lane after 5 p.m. on Jan. 17.
A Bristol Fire and Rescue captain with more than two decades of emergency response experience, Corson said she suspected immediately something was amiss. When she came on the scene, she had just left the Damariscotta Hannaford with her son Jayson Benner and was heading west.
The Jeep was stopped in the oncoming travel lane, consistent with a vehicle that would be making a left-hand turn into the parking lot of the Lucky Fortune restaurant, Corson said. Corson turned on her four-way flashers and stopped in the middle of the road to block traffic.
When she approached the Jeep, Corson said she observed the driver leaning their head against the driver side window with their eyes open and staring vacantly upward. She told her son to call for help while she attempted to get the operator to respond to her. As she did so, she heard the engine revving up.
“You could hear the accelerator go all the way to the floor and I said, ‘Oh, I’ve got to follow him. This is not going to end well,’” Corson said.
While Benner was on the phone with Lincoln County Communications Center, the Jeep started moving quickly as the accelerator appeared to have been pushed to the floor.
Heading east in the direction of Biscay Road, the Jeep sped up Main Street, left the roadway, and struck a large rock in front of Camden National Bank, at 435 Main St., and flipped over, rotating once. The impact caused substantial front end damage to the Jeep and deployed the vehicle’s airbags.
According to Roberts, the rear end of the Jeep came to rest on another large rock. The engine was still revving.
Corson and Benner piled into her car. She made a U-turn and made her way to the crash site in front of the bank where she met Sherrill, who had pulled over to help. Corson punched out the driver side windows while Sherrill opened the driver’s door.
Smith arrived on the scene prior to the dispatch of the Central Lincoln County Ambulance Service and the Damariscotta Fire Department. As Smith approached the vehicle, a bystander alerted the responders the vehicle had caught fire, noticing a fire had started in the engine compartment.
Using Corson’s seatbelt cutter, Smith freed the driver and the trio successfully removed them from the Jeep. They moved the driver several feet away from the crash and then moved him again as the fire in the engine compartment grew. According to Roberts’ account, shortly after they moved the individual a second time, there was an explosion in the engine compartment, and the vehicle’s motor stopped.
Members of Central Lincoln County Ambulance Service and Damariscotta Fire Department arrived on scene shortly thereafter. Three extinguishers were used on the fire, two by a firefighter and one by Smith. While waiting for an engine to arrive, firefighters started shoveling snow on the vehicle, which knocked the fire down and contained it to the engine compartment.
CLC transported the driver to MaineHealth Lincoln Hospital’s Miles Campus in Damariscotta. The individual was subsequently transported to Maine Medical Center in Portland with significant back and ankle injuries.
Smith declined comment, referring questions to Roberts.
Corson said she was glad she was able to help.
“Thank God my dog needed wet food and I went to Hannaford that night,” she said.
