BELGRADE – A 3-year-old Belgrade boy remained in critical condition Monday at a Portland hospital after the stroller he was riding in was hit by a truck on Route 135, police said.
The boy, whom police did not identify, was taken by a LifeFlight helicopter to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where he was listed in critical but stable condition with head trauma, said Kennebec County Sheriff Randall Liberty.
A 13-year-old Belgrade girl who was baby-sitting the boy and pushing the stroller was treated and released at Maine Medical Center.
“The baby sitter is home but may need reconstructive facial surgeries,” Liberty said.
The 3-year-old’s brothers, ages 4 and 9, were walking along the road at the same time but were not hit, Liberty said. Neither speed nor alcohol appear to have been factors in the crash, he said.
“This is a tragic event,” Liberty said. “Our prayers go out the victims and their families.”
The crash happened about 5 p.m. Friday near 130 Manchester Road. The children were walking west against traffic in the eastbound lane.
Elton Bowler, 48, of Augusta, was driving his 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup truck east when he came upon the children walking at the side of the road.
“The pickup truck struck the baby sitter and the 3-year-old boy, throwing them approximately five feet into the ditch,” Liberty said.
Capt. Daniel Davies of the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office said the crash occurred on a straight section of road near the children’s home.
He was unsure whether the teenage girl was related to the three boys.
“She just took them for a walk,” Davies said.
Police are still investigating the accident but don’t believe Bowler is at fault, Davies said.
The speed limit on that portion of road is 45 mph. There is no breakdown lane.
The children were wearing dark, nonreflective clothing and were not carrying flashlights, Davies said.
Sheriff deputies who reconstructed the crash drove the section of road at the speed limit and again at 50 mph.
“They had a deputy standing in the road,” Davies said. “They could not see him until the last possible moment.”
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