Three men were injured during a head-on collision on Rt. 1 in Edgecomb, Dec. 9. The accident occurred about a quarter mile south of the intersection of Routes 1 and 27.
Traffic on Rt. 1 was completely blocked for an hour until the scene could be cleared. Northbound vehicles on Rt. 1 were diverted onto Eddy Rd. around the accident scene.
According to Major Ken Mason of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Sereno Brown, 62, of Boothbay, was driving northbound on Rt. 1 in his 2003 Ford Windstar van when he fell asleep and crossed the median line around 3:15 p.m.
After crossing the median, Brown struck Frederick Merritt, 60, of Rockland, who was traveling south in a 2007 gray Toyota Prius. Upon hitting Merritt, Brown’s van flipped over and came to rest in the southbound lane.
According to Mason, the crash caused Merritt to become trapped in his vehicle. Members of the Wiscasset and Edgecomb fire departments helped extricate him from the car.
Merritt fractured his leg and suffered internal injuries in the crash. Brown and a passenger in Brown’s vehicle, Robert Greenleaf, 66, received lacerations to the head and hands during the accident. All three were transported to Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick for treatment.
The low profile of the Prius prevented the van from causing more serious injuries to Merritt, Mason said.
“They kind of glanced off each other, which is good,” he said.
The Sheriff’s Office has ruled out drugs and alcohol as a cause of the accident.
