A head-on collision between a motor home and a pickup truck sent three people to the hospital and slowed traffic on Route 1 in Wiscasset early Thursday afternoon, June 25.
Christopher L. Covel, 56, of Jefferson, was driving a 2004 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck north on Route 1 when he fell asleep, according to Lincoln County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jason Nein.
The truck crossed the centerline and struck a southbound 2005 Ford Gulf Stream motor home near the intersection with Flood Avenue around 1 p.m., according to Nein.
The motor home came to rest in the southbound breakdown and travel lanes near the site of the collision. The pickup truck “kind of deflected off the camper,” going back across the northbound lane and coming to rest in the northbound ditch, Nein said.
Irving B. Ruppel, 75, of Kenmore, N.Y., was driving the motor home. His wife, Marilyn J. Ruppel, 71, was a passenger in the vehicle. The Ruppels were transported to Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick.
Irving Ruppel sustained a chest injury, probably as a result of contact with the airbag, Nein said. Marilyn Ruppel sustained abrasions and “airbag rash.”
“They’re both fine,” Nein said. “They’re both home in New York and recovering.”
Covel was transported to the Miles Campus of LincolnHealth in Damariscotta with a head injury, including lacerations. He is also “home and recovering,” Nein said.
“Both vehicles are likely totaled,” Nein said.
Nein does not suspect alcohol or speed as factors in the crash. The high volume of traffic on Route 1 in Wiscasset likely would have prevented the vehicles from speeding “and the damage is not consistent with a high-speed crash,” he said.
Nein was the primary investigating officer, assisted by Wiscasset Police Officer Benjamin Kolko. Bath Rescue, the Wiscasset Ambulance Service, and the Wiscasset Fire Department also responded to the scene.
Nein cleared the scene at 2:23 p.m., an hour and 20 minutes after receiving the call at 1:03.
The accident essentially closed the southbound lane of Route 1 and slowed traffic in the northbound lane. Almost 45 minutes after the scene had been cleared, southbound traffic was still backed up well into Newcastle, just south of the Sherman Marsh rest area.