A Dresden woman escaped serious injury after she fell asleep at the wheel on Route 1 in Newcastle and her SUV climbed an embankment and rolled off Tuesday, June 23.
“She is one lucky lady,” Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy 1st Class Mark Bridgham said.
Judith Getchell, 75, of Dresden, was driving a 2003 Toyota Highlander south on Route 1 in the vicinity of Snead Spur when she fell asleep around 3:30 p.m., according to Bridgham.
The vehicle drifted onto the shoulder of the southbound lane, off Route 1, onto an access road to the Marsh River Bog Preserve, and up a hill, striking several small trees and nearly coming to rest before rolling off the top of a roadside embankment.
The vehicle was briefly airborne before crashing on its roof, Bridgham said. He estimated the drop at 20 feet.
The SUV traveled a total of about 500 feet while Getchell was asleep, Bridgham said. “She never came off the gas,” he said.
Getchell was “trapped in the vehicle for a good 12-15 minutes until we could get rescue there and we could get her free,” Bridgham said. The Central Lincoln County Ambulance Service transported Getchell to the Miles Campus of LincolnHealth in Damariscotta.
Other than some scratches and soreness, “she’s doing fine,” Bridgham said.
Getchell was wearing her seat belt. It was not clear whether the vehicle’s airbags deployed.
The SUV was totaled.
Along with Bridgham and crash reconstruction specialist Sgt. Jason Nein, the Central Lincoln County Ambulance Service, the Newcastle Fire Department, and North East Mobile Health Services responded to the scene.
