Eight out-of-state residents were injured in two traffic crashes Sunday in southern Maine, forcing police to close sections of the Maine Turnpike and Route 202 for several hours.
A pickup truck operated by Robert Rapino, 18, of Lynnfield, Massachusetts, crossed the centerline on Route 202 in Lebanon around 11 a.m. and struck two vehicles in the opposite lane near Northeast Motorsports, said Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
Rapino’s 2011 Toyota Tacoma kept going before it collided with a vehicle parked in a driveway, traveled through a wooded area, and came to rest in someone’s yard.
Two teenagers were injured in a crash on Route 202 in Lebanon on Sunday morning. Courtesy Maine State Police
Rapino and his passenger – 17-year-old Scott Fryou of Rochester, New Hampshire – were not wearing seat belts and each suffered a head injury, McCausland said in a statement. Fyrou’s head injury was considered serious and he was flown by LifeFlight helicopter to Maine Medical Center in Portland.
The people in the other cars were treated at the scene and released, but Route 202 – from Depot Road to Center Road – had to be shut down for four hours while troopers investigated. The cause of the collision remains under investigation.
In a separate crash, Maine State Police said six Massachusetts residents were injured around 7:45 a.m. Sunday when a car operated by Carrie Pitts, 53, of Lexington, Massachusetts, came to a sudden stop in the northbound lanes of the Maine Turnpike in Ogunquit and was struck from behind.
Pitts’ car stopped because of engine failure, and another vehicle then slammed into her car, according to McCausland. There was a 17-year-old passenger with her.
Abner Vasquez-Ardon, 33, of Chelsea, was operating the second vehicle and had two children and a man in the car with him.
All six people were transported to hospitals in Portland, York and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and they were expected to recover from their injuries, according to McCausland.
McCausland said all three northbound travel lanes were blocked as result of the damage caused by the crash. Motorists were forced to use the breakdown lane to travel north, which slowed traffic to a crawl for about two hours.
McCausland said that with the influx of tourists visiting the state from across the country and Canada, traffic volume has increased significantly on all of the state’s major roads and highways. Traffic volume typically decreases after Labor Day, but that holiday is still seven weeks away.
“July and August are the most heavily traveled months. It’s when those from away are visiting us, and we’re only halfway through the season. It’s going to be a very busy summer,” McCausland said.
This story was updated at 1 p.m. July 15 to correct information about the vehicles and drivers involved in the Ogunquit accident. Incorrect information was provided in the initial police reports.
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