Speed and alcohol appear to have been factors in an early morning crash Sunday that sent an Anson man to a hospital in Bangor.

Police said Joshua Houle, 20, of Anson, did not appear to have been wearing a seat belt in the single-car crash. The crash occurred about 3 a.m. on Route 234, also called Valley Road, in North Anson, according to James Ross, chief deputy at the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.

This 1996 Dodge Intrepid driven by 20-year-old Joshua Houle, of Anson, was destroyed in a crash early Sunday in North Anson, Houle, 20, was taken by LifeFlight helicopter to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor with possible head and internal injuries. Contributed photo

Somerset County Detective Michael Ross went to the scene, where the driver was reported to be trapped and seriously injured. The Anson Fire Department, along with AMS Ambulance Service, also went there. Emergency responders were able to extricate Houle, who had been pinned between the dashboard and the driver’s seat, according to Ross.

Houle had been driving east on Valley Road in a 1996 Dodge Intrepid when the car apparently drifted off the road on a corner, struck a utility pole, then several trees before being stopped by a large pine tree, Ross said. Houle was alone in the car, which went off the road about 400 feet before it stopped, he said. The car was destroyed, police said.

Ross said Houle appears to have suffered head injuries, broken bones and possible internal injuries. Houle was taken to Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan before being airlifted by a LifeFlight helicopter to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. A nursing supervisor at the hospital late Sunday afternoon said she had no information on Houle’s condition.

Police said the accident remains under investigation.

Doug Harlow — 612-2367

dharlow@centralmaine.com

Twitter:@Doug_Harlow

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