BANGOR, Maine — Speed and intersection activity were cited as factors in a three-vehicle accident Tuesday afternoon that sent a Milford man to the hospital for treatment of neck pain.
Injured was David Curtis, 48, of Milford, Bangor police Officer Eric Tourtelotte said Tuesday evening. Curtis was taken to St. Joseph Hospital, where he was treated and then released, a hospital nursing supervisor said.
Tourtelotte said the accident occurred about 3:15 p.m. at the intersection of Oak and Washington streets, near the Penobscot Bridge.
James Williamson, 20, of Brewer was driving a black GMC pickup truck on Oak Street when a vehicle ahead of him changed lanes. The vehicle had blocked Williamson’s view of a Chevrolet Equinox that was stopped ahead of him waiting to make a left turn onto Washington Street, Tourtelotte said.
Williamson was unable to stop in time to avoid a collision and rear-ended the Equinox, pushing it into the intersection, where it was struck by an older model GMC FairPoint Communications utility truck driven by Curtis, Tourtelotte said. Curtis was crossing from Brewer to Bangor over the Penobscot Bridge, he said.
Accident reconstruction measurements taken at the crash scene indicated that Williamson was driving faster than the 25 mph posted speed limit, Tourtelotte said.
The driver of the Equinox, 32-year-old Robyn Straubel of Hermon, complained of pain after the accident but did not require a trip to the hospital, he said.
Four children — ages 5, 6, 7 and 11 — who were riding in the Equinox were not injured, the officer said. He said that a male passenger in Williamson’s truck, whose name and age were not immediately available, also escaped injury.
Both of the trucks involved in the accident had significant front-end damage, Tourtelotte said. The Equinox had heavy damage to its front and rear ends, he said.
The accident caused traffic in the area to back up for more than half an hour.
Tourtelotte said no charges are anticipated in connection with the crash.
Running the red light may not be the cause here, but anyone that uses that bridge knows that there is little respect for the color red. The light on the Brewer side at Main Street is even worse-and more dangerous.
there is little regard for red lights everywhere……I think the tow truck guys and the auto body guys have some sort of conspiracy going on with the light changing guy!!!!
You are right, and it gets worse all the time.
Courtesy on the road is totally a thing of the PAST!
must have been ‘blinded by the light’…hope everyone’s okay…
are you referring to the sunlight or the light from the cell phone screen while texting?
I was referring to the song,and also the sunlight…
Well if they were traveling into Brewer, they would be going East…away from the sun…
from the looks of these cars the speed limits were being broken bet the cops don’t notice tho
yeah, i bet you know more from looking at two photos than the professionals that were actually there and do this daily.
the speed limit is 25mph in that area. On average, I would estimate people go 25-30mph. Two cars travels toward each other at 25-30mph each would cause that amount of damage. Someone hitting a stationary car wouldn’t cause that much damage since there is much less force involved. Simple physics.
I daresay your estimate of the average speed in that area is as flawed as your analysis of the accident scene.
That bridge, on both sides, is notorious for people running the red light. If you cross from the Brewer side, especially if you are leaving Mark’s Music, you better count to 5 before moving on a green light. Its especially bad from 6AM to 8AM …people blow thru that light …safety…smafety…how dare a light interrupt their texting and driving
I was not impressed by the Bangor Police little aid with the traffic flow during the accident. One police and car was stationed at the light by the Penobscot Plaza but was not helping with the traffic flow. Traffic flowing toward the accident was allowed to continue until they arrived at that intersection where they would have to find their own way around or remain stuck until they could find a way out.
Police assistance at the entrance to Chamberlain bridge, Hodson St and broad street would have been helpful. Simple rubber cones at Broad street would have been helpful.
Sounds to me like a kid who was trying to enjoy his new truck and not paying attention. I live up the road and people fly through there all the time.
Drive defensively, people. I don’t dare trust anyone anymore when I approach an intersection – even when I have a green light. Not worth it.
I tend to drive like nobody else around me is paying attention, especially in Bangor. Late last year an empty dump truck run the red light a few seconds after our end turned green, right off my side I saw a truck beaming up and didn’t look like he was slowing down but he was going so fast by the time I saw it I thought the pickup truck in front of me was going to get hit and of course that truck kept on going and I don’t think traffic dare to move for a little bit after what we all saw expecting another one. If that intersection was not as wide as it was or for the driver in front to stop where he should have coming off the bridge, I think that was going to be a disaster. Having red light cameras would be great seeing how patrol lacks around the city it seems.
A couple of months ago, I was waiting at the intersection of Union and Griffin headed across toward the airport. I got a green light but waited as a pickup blew through the red light and made a left headed outbound on Union. Guess who was sitting at the intersection headed intown on Union. A Bangor Cop!! He watched the guy and just sat there. Why obey the traffic rules if our “public safety” people don’t care. What ever happened to law enforcement? Guess they don’t teach that any more at police academy.
I don’t know how many times I can witness that, I watched a car go around a pedestrian in a crosswalk on Griffin, they go sailing right by in the other lane non stop while a mother carts her child in a stroller across the way, guess who is sitting there, Bangor PD, guess what he does? Nothing. I emailed Chief Ron and asked him what was wrong with his boys allowing such acts to happen, his response “The officers don’t see everything, they are distracted by the radio traffic and phone calls they receive and was more then likely what happened here” Unreal, protect and serve, out the window, their motto should be “Close eyes and focus on less paperwork” I see why many people do such stupid driving skills in Bangor..
Once again someone had the wheels turned while waiting to turn left. Why do so many people do this?
The lane markings at that intersection are not aligned adequately. if you are traveling to brewer as you cross through the intersection you’ll find you are partly in the on-coming traffic lane if you aren’t careful to adjust.