HERMON, Maine — A two-vehicle crash Wednesday evening near the intersection of Route 2 and Billings Road resulted in only a minor injury but demolished two vehicles and created a temporary traffic snarl.
Justin Smith, 19, of Levant was traveling along Route 2 toward Carmel about 7 p.m. when he arrived at the intersection, had a green light and proceeded through it, according to Penobscot County sheriff’s Deputy Jay Hallett, who assisted Deputy David Quinn at the scene.
As Smith was doing so, his Dodge pickup was struck by a Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Kirsten Bowden, 30, of Holden, who was turning from Billings Road onto Route 2, Hallett said.
“She thought she had enough time to make it through,” Hallett said, citing driver inattention on Bowden’s part as a factor in the accident.
The impact from the crash caused a small fire to start under the hood of Smith’s truck. It quickly was put out by firefighters, Hallett said.
Hallett said Bowden suffered a bloody nose in the crash but did not require a trip to the hospital. Neither Smith nor his two passengers were injured, he said.
Both vehicles were demolished, he said.
The deputies were assisted at the scene by emergency medical personnel from Hermon Volunteer Rescue and by Hermon firefighters, who helped with traffic control, Hallett said.
what no texting comments?
That yellow light means ‘Floor It’ doncha know!
This was no accident. Ms Bowden made a calculated decision to run a light and she ought to be in jail for assault with a deadly weapon. Running traffic lights happens ALL the time and the only way to dissuade people from making this bad decision is to come down hard on them. Ditto for talking on the phone or texting. It’s all well and good to kill yourself but, just as in this case, these people put innocents at risk of losing their lives. This should be a crime! A few years in jail might be a deterrent to the next jerk who thinks it is OK to run a light, or talk/text on the phone while driving.
Let’s just put every one in jail for two years then they can learn to be a real criminal and we can pay for it .. It really sucks; I read comments like this all the time and there a lot of people who think like this . It’s a shame really that people just want to condemn a person . What happen to helping a fellow american ….that’s what America grew up on helping getting people threw ruff times when they didn’t make a good decision .. My dad told me a story about a car that almost hit him and a friend head on .the people in the car where drunk this was in 1979-80 and they crashed in to a tree near 14th street extension and Ohio st my dad helped them get the car out of the woods and they drove home he helped some one that might have killed him … That would never happen now .. It’s just an example of what u will never see anymore
Tell me it’s OK after someone you love has been killed by some jerk talking on the phone or who is in a hurry and too lazy to stop for a light. Even after you’ve done your very best mistakes can still happen, and, even without making a mistake sometimes bad things happen. Running a yellow/red light, talking on the phone, texting, these things are not mistakes. They are decisions made despite knowing full well that they are bad decisions. People die because of these deliberate bad decisions. That is why I think people should be held accountable for their actions.
Nah…I’d be happy if people had the brains to just stop for red lights. That would be a nice change. And would avoid needless accidents.
According to Bob
Nutting you can go around an arrest everyone for braking the law an he said if you get hurt thats what we have courts for.
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Happened in the center of town, busy intersection, low speed zone, working traffic lights and “both vehicles were demolished”….appears someone(s) was traveling a little too fast here…..Crazy…..
I don’t see how this falls under the classification of “driver inattention.” To the contrary. She was obviously very aware because she saw the red light and made a conscious decision to try to get through it before the other driver proceeded through his green light.
She didn’t even look, she was determined not to stop no matter what. The sheriff’s department was too kind to her. The law says to stop before making a right turn on a red light. So, she should be charged with failure to stop at a red light, driving to endanger, and reckless driving. Cuff her and stuff her, then throw away the key. Boss Hogg would know what to do with her. People need to slow down and pay attention to their driving. Get off the GD cell phone, so that you can pay attention to your driving and no texting while driving, another chargeable offense. At intersections, I am always watching the right turning onto the road I am on. If necessary I will hit the brakes, when the right turner is going to turn on matter what. What really irritates me is that 2 vehicles have been totaled, so now insurance will have to replace the vehicles. This kind of negligence causes everyone’s insurance rates to go up. Defensive driving avoids accidents like this.
The reason why they are so gentle on her, less paperwork for the Sheriff, and stopping before turning right…I see cops do it all the time…Sheriff, State, Bangor, People talking on the phone, etc. I agree she should have been charged with a lot more, people run red lights everyday, you complain to the police department and they do nothing except for patrol at 2am for that kind of thing. People need to have the book thrown at them for this ignorance.
So Ms Bowden was charged with distracted driving. right?
Most larger towns have a “pink” light district.
My sis had an early 70’s Buick Riviera (…wish I had it!), ran a red light in South Fl. and hit 2 cars,kept going, pulled over and ran like hell. No one hurt.
A week later she went to impound yard to retrieve car and they said ” it’s out back-go get it.”
“That’s a big yard, how will I find it?”.
She forgot about the stone crab and steamers in the back seat, she was going to a cookout prior to the crash.
The car was indeed easy to locate.
Of course had it been the 17 yr old “MALE” that was at fault, they would have thrown the book at him!!
When the light turns green, count to 5 or until the guy behind you honks his horn before accelarating.
Driver inattention?? Really?! That is the best they can come up with??!! Wow, just wow, do the police not need any kind of intelligence any more or what? Here is what happened from the evidence above: Smith had a green light and enough time to get about 2/3 the way through the intersection in order to be hit by Bowden. Now if you think about it, it takes a pretty good impact to cause enough damage to total a vehicle, considering both are pretty tough. So that being said, driver inattention is the least of the charges that should be filed. She hit him, so SHE did NOT even slow down at the light before hitting him, DUH… People wonder why I have not faith in the cops any more.