Three seriously hurt in Washington head-on crash

WASHINGTON, Maine — Three people were seriously injured Friday when a car crossed the centerline on Route 17 and crashed head-on into another vehicle.

The crash occurred when officials with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office were meeting with representatives of the Maine Department of Transportation to discuss the need for centerline rumble strips on some roads in the county, including the stretch where the Friday crash occurred, according to Chief Deputy Tim Carroll.

The crash occurred at 11 a.m. on a straight stretch of Route 17 near the Lincoln County line when an eastbound 2011 Chevrolet Impala driven by David St. Pierre, 64, of Lewiston crossed the centerline and into the path of a westbound 2000 Nissan Xterra, driven by Jeremy Sawyer, 35, of Rockport. Sawyer also had a passenger in the vehicle, Ashley Glover, 18, of Waldoboro.

The department received a report at the scene that St. Pierre had been driving erratically just before the crash, Carroll said. He said Deputy Paul Spear was continuing his investigation into the possible cause.

Sawyer was taken by ambulance to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. Glover was flown by LifeFlight helicopter to EMMC. St. Pierre also was expected to be flown by LifeFlight to a trauma center in Maine, Carroll said.

An EMMC spokeswoman said shortly before 5 p.m. Friday she had no information on any of the three individuals.

The injuries to all three are not believed to be life-threatening, the chief deputy said.

Members of the Washington Fire Department and Union and Sterling Ambulances also were dispatched to the scene.

The chief deputy said he and Sheriff Donna Dennison were meeting with DOT officials at the sheriff’s office when the crash occurred, requiring him to go to Washington.

The department requested the meeting after a March 20 fatal crash on Route 1 in Warren. That accident was also a head-on collision. District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau said Friday afternoon that the completed investigative report from that crash, including a reconstruction analysis, has not yet been submitted to his department.

Carroll said that rumble strips best work in rural areas where the speed limits are higher. He said the department would like to see them in locations such as Route 1 in Warren and Route 17, including the stretch in Washington where Friday’s accident occurred.