WINTHROP — A local couple was hurt Tuesday morning when their car struck a utility pole on Route 135.
Husband and wife Edwin Ward, 70, and Sarah Ward, 63, were taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston with injuries that police believed weren’t life-threatening.
Capt. Ryan Frost, of the Winthrop Police Department, said Edwin Ward was taken as a precaution, but Sarah Ward suffered arm and wrist injuries.
Initial reports described the injuries as much more serious, prompting responding rescuers to ask for a LifeFlight helicopter to be put on standby. The request for a rescue helicopter was canceled soon after the first responders arrived at the 10:30 a.m. crash.
Police said Edwin Ward was driving north on Route 135, part of which is Winthrop Center Road in Winthrop, in the couple’s 2010 Volkswagen Golf. Frost said as the car approached the South Road intersection, it drifted off the right side of the road and sideswiped a utility pole.
The impact crushed the passenger’s side door near Sarah Ward’s seat. The Volkswagen continued north on Winthrop Center Road until stopping at the end of a driveway off the right side of the road.
Edwin Ward was able to get out of the car under his own power, but firefighters spent several minutes cutting Sarah Ward free.
The car sustained significant damage on the passenger’s side.
Frost said the Wards were “negotiating something” inside the car, which distracted Edwin Ward, causing the crash. Frost said neither was using a cellphone. Neither speed nor use of substances was a factor in the crash, Frost said.
That area of Route 135 was closed for about 45 minutes as crews tended to the injured couple.
Craig Crosby — 621-5642
Twitter: @CraigCrosby4
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