SKOWHEGAN — One of the two people who were taken by LifeFlight helicopter to hospitals in Portland and Bangor after an accident early Tuesday on U.S. Route 201 has died, according to Skowhegan police Chief David Bucnam.
The victim, Charles Atwood, 84, a resident of U.S. Route 201, also known as Waterville Road, was struck by a commercial box truck while crossing the road just before 6 a.m. Tuesday after getting his morning newspaper.
Bucknam reported Wednesday night that Atwood, who had been airlifted to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, had died.
The other person hospitalized, Aaron Norton, 36, of Madison, remained in critical condition Wednesday, according to police. Norton was the driver of a sedan that also was hit by the box truck, was taken by LifeFlight to Maine Medical Center in Portland. He also remains in critical condition, Bucknam said.
Michael Kelley, 67, of Clinton, the box truck driver, was treated locally and released from the hospital with minor injuries, he said.
The box truck, a Freightliner, was traveling west on Waterville Road when Kelley tried to avoid striking Atwood, according to Bucknam.
“The truck swerved but was unable to avoid the pedestrian, striking him on the passenger side of the vehicle,” Bucknam said in a release Tuesday.
When the truck swerved, it struck a Chevrolet Aveo sedan traveling east on Waterville Road, according to Bucknam. The crash occurred near the Sappi North America paper mill on Waterville Road.
Skowhegan police worked with a Maine State Police reconstruction team, the state police weights and measures team, and the state Department of Environmental Protection, because a large amount of diesel fuel spilled, according to Bucknam.
The U.S. Postal Service sent investigators to the scene because a driver of one of the vehicles was a private person who contracts for the postal service and was carrying mail, according to Bucknam.
Doug Harlow — 612-2367
Twitter:@Doug_Harlow
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