Two New Hampshire men who were involved in a fatal car crash Friday night in Lebanon had attended a medical marijuana festival in the York County town, according to Maine State Police.
In a statement Sunday, state police spokesman Steve McCausland said one of the men died in the crash on Center Road. The other man was transported to a hospital in Rochester, New Hampshire, treated and released.
The name of the man who died was being withheld Sunday pending notification of his relatives, McCausland said. He said investigators were having difficulty locating the man’s family. The Rochester Voice newspaper identified the victim as a Barrington, New Hampshire, man.
According to McCausland, the driver lost control of his pickup truck, which overturned and pinned him underneath. Passers-by stopped and freed the man, but he died at the crash scene.
“Both men had attended a marijuana festival in Lebanon, and had left the event a few minutes before the crash,” McCausland said.
Though McCausland did not identify the event, the only medical marijuana festival in Lebanon this past weekend was the “Live, Love, Laugh Festival,” which was held Aug. 18-20, according to the organizers’ Facebook page. The Facebook post said the festival featured medibles and smokables and was billed as “Southern Maine’s 4th Annual Green Love Celebration.”
In Maine, where the sale of recreational marijuana is not yet allowed, it is legal to grow and possess cannabis. State lawmakers are still developing a system of state regulated stores where pot could be sold.
State police Trooper Rick Spicer told the Rochester Voice that the victim was driving a friend home from the festival around 8:30 p.m. when he swerved off the road, caught the soft shoulder and overcorrected. Spicer said the truck spun around and rolled over. Neither man was wearing a seat belt, Spicer said.
Spicer told the newspaper that there was no smell or evidence of alcohol use. As is required in all fatal motor vehicle accidents, the state will conduct a blood-alcohol test.
Roads at the time of the accident were rain-soaked and slippery, making for treacherous driving conditions. Spicer could not be reached for further comment Sunday evening.
Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:
dhoey@pressherald.com
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