Rescue workers assess one of the vehicles involved in a head-on collision June 17, 2023, on Interstate 95 in Augusta. Sarah G. Lincoln, 47, of Winthrop, who was drunk when she drove in the wrong direction and crashed head-on into a Litchfield woman and severely injuring her, was sentenced Friday to two years in prison. Maine Department of Public Safety photo

AUGUSTA — A Winthrop woman who was drunk when she drove onto Interstate 95 in Augusta, headed in the wrong direction and crashed head-on into a Litchfield woman, was sentenced Friday to two years in prison.

Sarah G. Lincoln, 47, of Winthrop crashed into a vehicle driven by Julia Kronstrand, 19, of Litchfield who was severely injured. It was Lincoln’s fourth operating under the influence charge.

State troopers responded at 8:17 p.m., June 17, 2023, to the crash at mile marker 112 on the southbound side.

After an initial investigation, police said Lincoln entered I-95 southbound from the wrong side and drove north against traffic.

Kronstrand was seriously injured and taken to MaineGeneral Medical Center, according to police.

Prosecutor Frank Griffin, an assistant attorney general, said Kronstrand “basically broke every  bone in her body, from her pelvis down,” and is still in pain and suffering the impacts of the crash in her personal, educational and career life.

He said it was a miracle she lived, and a miracle the defendant lived. He said Lincoln’s blood-alcohol content was .19 when tested after the crash, more than twice the legal limit for driving.

Kronstrand said in court, at times through tears, and walking with a limp, the crash has forever altered her life, as she was a CNA in high school and planned to become a nurse, a profession she now fears she won’t be able to join because her injuries won’t allow her to spend long periods of time on her feet, or walk long distances.

She said the day of the crash, 608 days ago, “is solidified in my mind as the worst day of my life. That day has changed me fundamentally as a person.”

She said she remembers seeing headlights, then coming to in a daze, a state trooper at her window, and being in her driver’s seat where she was trapped in the metal of her first car, surrounded by blood and broken glass.

She said she lost her independence as an 18-year-old who was supposed to spend the last summer with her high school friends at the beach, and went to her first year of college in a wheelchair. She said she’s had to relearn how to walk. She said she was shocked when she learned the woman who hit her, Lincoln, was the daughter of her third-grade teacher, Linda Lincoln.

“I felt like a toddler, learning to move,” Kronstrand said. “I was supposed to be going to college, instead I was learning how to walk. How to adjust my titanium screws.”

Lincoln, also struggling through tears, apologized to Kronstrand and her family, as did Lincoln’s parents.

“I want to start by saying how tremendously sorry I am for what I did, there really is no excuse for my behavior,” Lincoln said. “I know I caused such incredible pain. I’m also sorry others around her have also suffered. I know my actions had a ripple effect of damage, and I’m so sorry.”

Lincoln’s attorney, Walter McKee, noted she suffered injuries as well and has other health problems that are unlikely to be adequately treated while imprisoned. He said she is a good community member, active in her church and the community, is known by her friends and family as someone they can turn to for support in challenging times. He said she has already undergone counseling for alcohol abuse.

McKee and Lincoln’s parents said she suffered from past abusive relationships, and health problems including anorexia, PTSD, and liver and gastrointestinal problems.

Her father, Charles Lincoln, who is also a teacher, said after she was released from the hospital following the accident, she had to be rushed back, and was suffering from sepsis. He said doctors then said she had only a 50-50 chance of surviving.

Superior Court Justice Daniel Mitchell said Lincoln’s three previous operating under the influence incidents, in 2006, 2010 and 2018 were aggravating factors in his sentence of Lincoln, but the biggest aggravating factor was the impact her crime had on Kronstrand.

He sentenced her to seven years in prison, with all but two of those years suspended, and three years probation. That means if she complies with the terms of her probation, she’ll serve two years, but if she does not, she could serve up to the full seven-year sentence.

She was also assessed a $2,100 fine, and will lose her license and ability to register a vehicle for six years. Her prison time will start Feb. 28, as McKee asked for her to have the time until then to have some important medical appointments.

Lincoln pleaded guilty, Nov. 7, 2024, to aggravated assault, a Class B felony, and aggravated operating under the influence, a Class C felony.

Lincoln was indicted, in January 2024, on charges of aggravated assault, aggravated criminal operating under the influence and driving to endanger, June 17, 2023. The driving to endanger charge was dismissed.

The aggravated assault charge states Lincoln “did intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly cause bodily injury to Julia Kronstrand with the use of a dangerous weapon, a vehicle.”

Several friends and family members of both Lincoln and Kronstrand attended the sentencing hearing.