HOLDEN, Maine — Alcohol was cited as a factor in a single-vehicle crash Monday afternoon that sent a Holden woman to the hospital for treatment of internal injuries.
The accident happened about 3:30 p.m. on Clark Hill Road, when Barbara Howard, 56, lost control of her 2004 Hyundai Sante Fe, which was headed north, Holden police Sgt. Eugene Fizell said Monday night.
Fizell said that Howard’s SUV “traveled sideways and backward” for a distance of about 250 feet before slamming into a utility pole, striking the driver’s side hinge area. The impact, he said, snapped the vehicle around so that it came to a rest facing in the opposite direction.
Howard was extricated from wreckage by Capital Ambulance and Hampden public safety personnel, Fizell said. She was taken to a Bangor hospital, where she was being treated for internal injuries that he said appeared to be serious but not life-threatening.
Howard’s passenger, 70-year-old Rebecca Eastman, who is visiting from Florida, suffered minor injuries, Fizell said. He said she was treated at the accident scene by emergency medical personnel.
Both women appeared to be wearing their seat belts when the accident happened, he said, adding that the airbags in Howard’s SUV deployed.
Fizell said that, based on evidence at the scene and his professional assessment, he expected that Howard will be charged with operating under the influence. He said a blood sample was taken and that he is awaiting results.
The broken utility pole knocked out the neighborhood’s electrical power and cable and telephone service. Though power was restored shortly after the crash, Fizell said it took about six hours to get the pole replaced and the rest of the services up and running again.
Note to BDN and Dawn Gagnon the photograph states “Holden public safety personnel” and the body of the article states “Howard was extricated from wreckage by Capital Ambulance and Hampden public safety personnel, Fizell said.”
Now knowing that Sgt Fizell knows which town he was in and which public safety agencies were on scene one can only assume that the BDN lack of attention to details once again has reared its ugly head.
Does anyone proof the articles prior to posting or publishing?
I agree. I mean honestly BDN all you have to do is read these over maybe once. We all learned to proof read in grammar school. These silly little errors are a common occurence which could be avoided by reading the article before you post it.
Especially when it says Brewer on the ambulance in the picture…
Does anyone proof the articles prior to posting or publishing?
Many have asked that question for quite some time now and never get any honest answers
The News is strapped for people-largely because they let all of read it for free. Take a stroll through that place-a lot of empty desks.
Ouch…that’s a bad area to hit on the driver’s side
she was “sexting”
Hey, it was 5 o’clock somewhere!
56 and driving drunk with a 70 year old passenger…….they never learn do they…..at least they had the knowledge to buckle up (chuckling)…….they never learn, but I’m glad they didn’t take out some innocent family on the road, or some sober father on his way home from work that supports his family, or some innocent child on a bicycle, or someone out for a casual stroll, or anyone from the general public out living their life….get the message…
What an irresponsible act. I travel this road alot for work and never have I driven this road without seeing children riding bikes or someone walking a baby in a stroller or jogging. Lucky it was just a pole …she deserves her punishment!