Four individuals and three entities were awarded for their work in caring for patients and controlling the scene of a fatal crash in Dresden during a Wiscasset Select Board meeting the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 17.
Wiscasset EMS Chief Erin Bean recognized Wiscasset Police Officer Jonathan Barnes, Wiscasset firefighters Michael Doherty and David Dulack, Wiscasset EMS Paramedic Meriel Longley, the Wiscasset Fire Department, the Woolwich Fire Department, and Woolwich EMS for their “quick thinking and decisions” that led to securing and clearing the scene of a three-vehicle crash that occurred the afternoon of Sept. 2.
“I cannot stress how appreciative I am that we have a wonderful working relationship with our Wiscasset fire department and the mutual aid partners from Woolwich,” said Bean.
According to a press release from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Andrew Coombs, 33, of Portland, was driving a yellow four-door 2016 Kia Rio southbound on Route 27 in Dresden near the intersection with Carriage Court around 2:36 p.m. when he crossed into the northbound lane.
In the northbound lane, the Kia struck two oncoming vehicles; a black 2018 Hyundai SUV driven by Brad Reed, 41, of Auburn, followed by a red 2023 Infinity QX55 driven by Megan Higgins, 43, of Augusta.
After being struck by Coombs’s vehicle, both Reed’s and Higgins’ vehicles rolled onto their roofs on the northbound shoulder. Coombs’s vehicle came to rest in the southbound lane.
Coombs was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the LCSO. Reed, Higgins, and two children in the Higgins vehicle, ages 10 and 11, were all transported to MaineHealth Maine Medical Center in Portland by Wiscasset EMS for treatment of internal injuries.
Route 27 was closed for roughly four hours following the crash, reopening around 6:37 p.m. The cause of the collision remains under investigation.
According to Bean, the crash was witnessed by an off-duty Boothbay EMS paramedic, who called the incident into dispatch.
Barnes was already on his way to the area, as he was responding to a report of an erratic vehicle.
“(Barnes) updated dispatch that the incident would require more responding units than Wiscasset has,” said Bean.
Longley was the paramedic on the first ambulance responding from Wiscasset, according to Bean. She alerted Bean of the situation, coordinated getting an ambulance driver from the Wiscasset Fire Department, and asked Woolwich to send as many units as they could to the scene. Doherty went to the scene with Longley.
Dulack responded to the scene with an ambulance with Bean.
Barnes became the incident commander at the scene, as patient care was Bean’s top priority, she said. Barnes called in units from the Wiscasset Fire Department to help with traffic control.
Wiscasset Fire Department Capt. Stephen Smith heard the call for manpower and responded to the scene, assisting with freeing individuals who were trapped in their vehicles, said Bean.
Two ambulances and a fire apparatus from Woolwich responded to the scene as well, helping with extrication and staying to help control the scene.
Each individual received a certificate and each entity received a plaque.
The next meeting of the Wiscasset Select Board is at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 1 at the town office.
