Crash Shuts Down Highway in Hancock

BANGOR, Maine — Two vehicles, one of them an ambulance, were demolished Saturday in an accident on Route 1 that resulted in part of the highway being closed to traffic for several hours.

Five people were taken from the accident scene to an Ellsworth hospital with injuries, but none of those injuries was believed to be serious, according to state police.

The accident occurred shortly before 1 p.m. as Dana Listman, 36, of Hancock was driving a yellow 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt west on Route 1, Maine state Trooper Cliff Peterson said.

Listman had slowed down to turn left off Route 1 onto the western end of Old Route 1 when a 2000 Ford ambulance, owned and operated by County Ambulance of Ellsworth, crested a hill behind Listman and another vehicle behind his Chevrolet, according to Peterson.

The ambulance driver, Kelsi Bean, 21, of Bangor was distracted as the ambulance approached the other slowed vehicles, he said. Bean steered the ambulance into the oncoming lane of traffic to avoid the other vehicles, but Listman turned left into its path as the ambulance tried to pass.

The collision forced both Listman’s car and the ambulance off the south side of the highway and into a utility pole, which snapped from the impact and brought several wires down across both lanes of Route 1. The third vehicle was untouched in the collision.

Susan Faloon, spokeswoman for Bangor Hydro-Electric Co., said Sunday that 946 customers lost their power as a result of the accident. She said power was restored to all of them by about 8 p.m. Saturday.

The drivers of the vehicles were wearing seat belts at the time of the accident, Peterson said. Listman complained of abdominal pain and Bean had arm pain as a result of the collision, he said.

Two emergency medical technicians were in the back of the ambulance, as was patient Doris Tarr, 97, of Sorrento. Tarr suffered minor facial abrasions in the accident, while EMT Tessa Hastings, 30, of Dedham had minor head pain.

The other EMT, Jenna Jones, 21, of Oxford, suffered significant back pain from the crash, Peterson said. He said Jones was working her first day on the job for County Ambulance when the accident occurred.

All five people were taken by other County Ambulance vehicles to Maine Coast Memorial Hospital in Ellsworth.

“They’re all expected to be released,” Peterson said.

Both the ambulance and the Chevrolet were demolished in the accident.

Route 1 near the accident scene was shut down for approximately three hours. Traffic was rerouted through Franklin on Routes 182 and 200 while emergency response personnel worked at the accident scene and utility crews repaired the fallen wires.

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