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Skowhegan Fire Department’s technical rescue team assists the driver of a car that crashed Tuesday night near Wesserunsett Stream in Skowhegan. The ladder truck, which blocked traffic at the bridge on Route 150, was used to lift the driver, who had suffered minor injuries, from the edge of the stream. Photo courtesy of Skowhegan Fire Department

SKOWHEGAN — A local man who was extricated from a vehicle after he crashed into a stream Tuesday night sustained minor injuries, police said.

Around 9:30 p.m., the Skowhegan Police Department responded to the single vehicle crash off Hilton Hill Road, Chief David Bucknam said Wednesday.

The driver of the 2025 Mazda CX-50 — Dale Fletcher, 45, of Skowhegan — was trapped inside the vehicle, which landed in Wesserunsett Stream near the Route 150 intersection, Bucknam said.

The Skowhegan Fire Department’s technical rescue team responded and was able to remove Fletcher from the vehicle, the department said in a social media post.

Skowhegan Fire Department’s technical rescue team use a ladder truck Tuesday night to rescue the driver of a car that crashed near Wesserunsett Stream in Skowhegan. Photo courtesy of Skowhegan Fire Department

Photos the department shared show crew members using a ladder truck parked on the bridge over the stream to lift Fletcher from the stream using a basket.

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Fletcher was then taken via ambulance to Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan, Bucknam said.

“How the guy walked away is unreal,” the chief said.

Bucknam said police are continuing to investigate the crash, but speed is believed to be a factor.

Deputy fire Chief Ryan Johnston praised his department’s work in the social media post.

“This marks the second instance in two months where the TRT has responded to a low-frequency, high-risk incident and performed flawlessly,” he wrote. “Our training and education have clearly paid off.”

Jake covers public safety, courts and immigration in central Maine. He started reporting at the Morning Sentinel in November 2023 and previously covered all kinds of news in Skowhegan and across Somerset...