NEW CANADA, Maine — Weather conditions contributed to a crash that seriously injured an Etna man on Tuesday night, according to Maine State Police.
Trooper Christopher Cyr said Tuesday that the accident on Route 161 took place just before 11 p.m.
Cyr said Timothy Mitchell, 26, of Corinth was operating northbound on Route 161 at approximately 55 mph when he lost control of the vehicle, crossed the centerline, and rolled over down a steep west side embankment. The roadway was glare ice and untreated at the time of the crash.
Mitchell, who was driving a one-ton commercial truck was accompanied by a passenger, Jason Harris, 25, of Etna.
Harris was trapped inside the wreckage and in severe pain due to his legs being pinned under the dash area. Cyr said rescue personnel from the Fort Kent and North Lakes fire departments encountered a difficult and time-consuming extrication.
Once they got Harris out, he was taken first to Northern Maine Medical Center in Fort Kent and then transported by LifeFlight to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. He was listed in critical but stable condition at 3 a.m., Cyr said. Additional details were not immediately available later Wednesday.
Mitchell was able to get out of the vehicle and was not hurt. The men were not wearing seat belts.
Jason…we are all praying for you and your family.
Jason Harris was wearing a seat belt! Let’s get our facts straight
And it happened Tuesday night.not.Monday!
55 on glare ice ?
From context, I’m pretty sure they meant black ice – ice that’s hard to spot from inside a car at night – not glare ice.
I agree . It is not always easy to tell when you hit ice . People need to slow down a bit.
It was not glare ice it was black ice. They were not going to fast for the area and were both being responsible.Accidents happen everyday! Its that time of year!
55 on black ice is not too fast? Maybe not if they did not know it was ice.
Black ice is ice you do not see and do not.know is there. They are both responsible adults and again were doing nothing wrong.
You may be right accidents happen . In my years of driving I learned to test the roads a bit but still get into accidents.
Jason is my boyfriend and the man driving is a good friend and could worker of his. If there was a risk or thought that conditions were to bad they would not have been driving 55. I trust both of them with my life. I have no doubt and neither do the state police that this was only an accident!
This is Jason’s sister. I’m not sure where the report of not wearing a seatbelt came from, but he was definitely wearing it and has the bruising to prove it. @sally102:disqus – Thank you for your thoughts and prayers, we greatly appreciate them.
Jason,
Bub & I are thinking about you and your family. We hope you are doing ok. we will be praying for you.
Bub & Amanda
Thank you amanda and bub! We appreciate all the thoughts and prayers
Y
I know that Jason is going to have a long road a head, but I know that Bub would like to come see him when the time is right.
Sure hope you have a smooth recovery jason…mom and i are praying for you, much love from all of us at etna village variety.