BENTON — The driver of a car that crashed Tuesday morning on Hanscom Road, injuring all three occupants, had a suspended license, and speed and alcohol are considered factors in the crash, police said.
The car “looked like a plane taking off” when it hit a ditch and launched into trees more than 100 feet away, said Shelly Crosby, who lives on Hanscom Road.
Passengers Brooklyn Vining, 15, and Jodie Nadeau, 20, both of Fairfield, suffered multiple broken bones, and Vining had a collapsed lung as a result of the crash. Both were taken from the scene to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor by Lifeflight helicopter. Vining is the most seriously injured, according to a news release from Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Safety.
Sadie McDonald, 19, of Waterville, also suffered severe injuries. McDonald was taken to MaineGeneral Medical Center’s Thayer Center for Health, in Waterville, for treatment.
MacDonald was driving the 1997 Lexus with a suspended license when it crashed shortly after 10 a.m., Trooper Rick Moody, the investigator at the scene, said in an interview.
Moody said McDonald was driving at a “high rate of speed” when she lost control of the car. He said he is waiting for blood-alcohol test results and will consult with the district attorney’s office “before deciding what charges to lodge against McDonald,” the release said.
Crosby, who lives at 228 Hanscom Road, said the car swerved into a ditch and hit Crosby’s gravel driveway. The car was going extremely fast, she said.
Crosby said the car became airborne and flew for more than 100 feet before landing in a patch of trees on her property.
The car landed on its roof, pinning the three occupants inside. Crosby said she went to help them after hearing screams.
The interior was bloody and the driver and two passengers appeared to be seriously hurt, she said. Only one of the occupants was conscious when she reached the car.
At the scene Tuesday, workers used a winch to extract the battered four-door sedan from where it was lodged in the trees.
Investigators don’t know where the three were coming from, but know they were traveling north toward Route 139, Moody added. Hanscom Road connects East Benton Road and Route 139. The two-lane road was straight and dry where the accident occurred. Police removed several empty alcohol bottles from the car at the scene.
She recognized the occupants because they frequently visit a residence on Hanscom Road.
“It was scary. I’ve never seen anything like that,” Crosby said.
Peter McGuire — 861-9239
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