AUGUSTA — A city woman was seriously injured Friday when she was hit by a sport utility vehicle while walking on a sidewalk on North Belfast Avenue.

Ruth Epperson, 81, was taken by a LifeFlight helicopter to Maine Medical Center in Portland with life-threatening injuries, said Augusta Police Sgt. Christopher Shaw.

The driver of the car that hit Epperson, Joshua Erskine, 24, of Windsor, was not injured.

The crash happened about 3:30 p.m. as Erskine was driving a 1999 Jeep Cherokee east on North Belfast Avenue. Erskine lost control of his vehicle roughly half a mile east of the Bangor Street intersection.

The Jeep swerved across the westbound lane and hit a parked car belonging to Kathleen Greene, 59. The car was parked in the driveway to Greene’s home, Shaw said.

Erskine’s Jeep caromed off Greene’s car and plowed into Epperson, who was walking on the sidewalk.

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Epperson is a member of the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Augusta and involved with a quilting group, according to the church website.

Erskine’s blood will be tested to determine if he was intoxicated at the time of the crash, which is standard procedure when serious injury is involved, Shaw said. Erskine had not been charged as of Friday evening, Shaw said.

Police remained on the scene for more than two hours reconstructing the crash. Part of that investigation is determining what might have caused Erskine to lose control of the Jeep, Shaw said.

Craig Crosby — 621-5642

ccrosby@centralmaine.com


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