Three people were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries following a five-vehicle accident on the Davey Bridge in Wiscasset that snarled traffic along Rt. 1 for miles in either direction July 22.
According to Wiscasset Police Lt. John Allen, the accident occurred around 1:15 p.m. near the Wiscasset end of the bridge.
Allen’s report indicates the accident occurred when a southbound tractor-trailer collided with a car stopped in the southbound lane on the bridge. The crash set off a chain reaction that caused another collision to occur in the northbound lane. Ultimately, three cars and two tractor-trailer trucks received significant damage in the accident.
According to police, the accident began when tractor-trailer truck, operated by Ronald Mallet of Lakeville, New Brunswick, Can. collided with the back end of a 1994 Volvo station wagon driven by Allen Berry of Falmouth.
The impact caused the front end of Berry’s Volvo to swing into the northbound lane, colliding with a northbound 2003 GMC pickup, operated by John Pagurko of Whitefield.
Still unable to stop, Mallett’s tractor-trailer truck continued past Berry’s Volvo and struck a 2007 BMW operated by Brian McNamara of Marshfield, Mass. The BMW was crushed between Mallet’s tractor-trailer and another stationary tractor-trailer in the southbound lane operated by Terrence Gray of Hope.
Much to the surprise of emergency personnel, the Mr. and Mrs. McNamara made it out of their car alive.
“When I got there, I asked where were the people (in the BMW),” Allen said.
According to Lt. Allen, McNamara crawled out of the sunroof in the BMW after the collision and then opened the passenger side door for his wife. The couple was standing at the scene when Allen arrived.
The crash locked up traffic for approximately four hours as emergency personnel from multiple departments responded, some directly to the scene and others at key intersections to reroute motorists along the Rt. 1 corridor.
Motorists were asked to turn around at the bridge. Emergency personnel rerouted traffic at the intersection of the Sheepscot Rd. and Rt. 1 in Newcastle, as well as at the intersection of Rt. 27 and Rt. 1 in Edgecomb.
Emergency personnel from the towns of Newcastle, Wiscasset, Edgecomb, Alna, and Boothbay responded to the scene and to mutual aid in collaboration with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Wiscasset Police, Lincoln County Communications and the Maine State Police.
The estimated total damage to all of the vehicles involved in the crash came to roughly $47,000, according to Wiscasset Police. Two of the people involved in the accident were taken from the scene to Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta and one person was taken to Midcoast Hospital. Of the three people injured, one was a passenger and two were drivers. Allen said the state police are still investigating the accident.
No charges are expected, Allen said.
