AUGUSTA — City police are investigating a single-car accident that killed two Windsor residents near North Belfast Avenue and Pipeline Road early Saturday morning.
An Augusta resident who lives near the crash scene said that portion of North Belfast Avenue is particularly dangerous, even though it appears to be only a gradual curve.
The driver, David Smith, 52, and his passenger, Lisa Pelletier, 46, were both pronounced dead at the scene after the 2011 Toyota Camry they were in overturned, according to a release by Deputy Chief Kevin Lully. Police responded to the call around 12:48 a.m. Saturday.
The release said only one vehicle was involved in this crash, but Lully said “not all of the exact details are known at this time in the investigation.”
The scene of a motor vehicle collision Saturday that killed two people when the vehicle left North Belfast Avenue and collided with a utility pole and tree at intersection of Pipeline Road in Augusta. Kennebec Journal photo by Joe Phelan
Joanne Bernard, who lives on North Belfast Avenue just before Pipeline Road, said the crash passed over her driveway and knocked out her power after the car hit a telephone pole. She said there was debris all over the road after the crash and the car “was demolished.”
“When we heard that crash, it was an explosion,” she said Saturday afternoon.
She said the gradual curve on that North Belfast Avenue sneaks up on drivers, especially when they are traveling faster than the speed limit. She said a car crashed in the same location last week, injuring another driver, and she has had to replace countless mailboxes due to accidents in the past.
“People seem to misjudge that when they’re going 90 mph,” she said. “When they get out of Augusta city limits, it’s like the highway.”
Bernard said a guardrail with reflective features could be installed to make the curve safer.
Lully said the crash was reconstructed by the Maine State Police. Officials have not released any details or indicated speed was a factor at this point in the investigation.
Anyone with information about the accident is asked to contact the Augusta Police Department at 207-626-2370.
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