WATERVILLE — Two nuns from the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament were taken to the hospital Wednesday afternoon after they were injured in a car accident about a block from the convent.
Sister Mary Catherine Perko, 85, was driving a 2009 green Ford Fusion when it struck an unoccupied pickup truck parked on the side of Silver Street, according to Sgt. Brian Gardiner of the Waterville Police Department.
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It appears that Perko fell asleep while driving, said Gardiner. She was going the speed limit, which is 25 mph, and there will be no charges in the accident, he said.
Both Perko and her passenger, Sister Hermenia Cayosa, 84, were taken to Maine General Medical Center’s Thayer Campus for non-life threatening back and neck injuries, said Gardiner.
A spokeswoman for the hospital said Wednesday evening that Perko was in good condition and Cayosa was in fair condition.
The truck belongs to Tom Smith, 42, of South China. Smith, a contractor, said he was parked on the grass outside a home between Gold and Kimball streets where he was working on a construction project when the accident happened.
“I was on the roof and I heard it, but didn’t see it,” said Smith. He said the truck, a 2000 Chevrolet Silverado, is extensively damaged.
Gardiner said the car Perko was driving also was extensively damaged and not inoperable. The air bags were deployed and the front of the car was smashed in.
The accident occurred around 4 p.m. Wednesday and closed traffic on Silver Street between Gold and Kimball streets for about 45 minutes.
The Waterville Fire Department, Waterville Police Department and Delta Ambulance responded to the scene.
Rachel Ohm — 612-2368
rohm@mainetoday.com
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