A Jefferson resident was seriously injured as a result of a crash after losing control of his car on the Hinks Road in Jefferson late Tuesday afternoon.
Daniel Hennessey was transported by Life Flight helicopter from Peaslee’s Quickstop on Route 17 after his 1999 Volkswagen Jetta spun off the Hinks Road and struck a tree just before 5 p.m. Tuesday.
According to Sgt. Jason Nein, a crash reconstructionist specialist with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO), Hennessey was driving at a high rate of speed traveling north on the Hinks Road. He lost control as his car crested a hill and entered a slight curve at the entrance of Sunrise Park.
Nein said Hennessey’s Jetta crossed the Hinks road and began to spin around then hit a tree after crossing the southbound lane, coming to a stop in the middle of the road.
Emergency personnel arriving first on scene noticed there were toys and personal floatation devices in the vehicle after using the jaws of life to get Hennessey out. Nein said Hennessey was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident and suffered blunt force injuries to his head.
According to Jefferson Fire Chief Sheridan Bond, the driver was alive, but incoherent when a Delta ambulance transported him to the helicopter landing zone set up by the Whitefield Fire Dept. Hennessey was then flown to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.
Emergency personnel conducted a search of the area, seeking another person, based on the floatation devices, toys and based on the fact that Hennessey had been traveling from the direction of a nearby state boat landing.
“The driver was known to have three children,” Bond said, adding that they conducted the search as a precaution.
Bond said shortly after that all the children had been accounted for and none had been in the car at the time of the accident.
Nein said investigators with the LCSO are working to determine if alcohol or drugs were contributing factors. The road was closed to traffic for approximately two hours while they examined the scene.
As of press time, a spokesperson at the hospital said Hennessey remains in critical condition.