MANCHESTER — A Winslow woman escaped serious injury Wednesday when her car was hit by loaded tractor-trailer on U.S. Route 202.

Kelly Pelletier, 27, was taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston with what were believed to be non life-threatening injuries, said State Police Trooper Dane Wing.

The tractor-trailer driver, 58-year-old Mervin Greene of Clinton, was not injured.

The crash occurred shortly after 1 p.m. as Pelletier, who was driving west on U.S. 202 in her 2007 Toyota Corolla, attempted to make a left turn from the center turning lane into Copies Etc. Wing said it appeared she turned in front of the tractor-trailer.

The truck, a 2004 Western Star hauling a trailer loaded with sawdust, hit Pelletier’s Toyota.

“He tried to avoid her,” Wing said. “From what witnesses said it was unavoidable.”

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The truck apparently rolled over the top of the Toyota’s front passenger’s side. Pelletier was alone in the car.

“The whole passenger side was caved in,” Wing said.

The truck, which sustained damage to the undercarriage, had to be towed away. Oakland-based A&S Incorporated, which owns the truck, sent another rig to haul away the trailer.

Pelletier’s Toyota was totaled.

Trooper Patrick Munzing of the Maine State Police Commercial Vehicles Unit assisted with the crash investigation. Winthrop rescue and firefighters were called to help Manchester firefighters with traffic control. Wing said eastbound traffic was diverted into the turn lane, but vehicles continued to flow in both directions.

The crash was the second on the stretch of road in just a few hours. One person was taken to the hospital earlier in the day after the car he was driving hit the electrical meter behind Rite Aid on U.S. 202. Wing said the driver suffered a seizure, which caused him to drive into the building. The man was taken to MaineGeneral Medical Center.

Rite Aid management called an electrician to fix the meter. The store did not lose power, Wing said.

Craig Crosby — 621-5642 ccrosby@centralmaine.com


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