HARRINGTON, Maine — A Milbridge man was killed when the pickup truck he was driving crossed the centerline and crashed nearly head-on into a large container truck Tuesday morning.
The victim was identified as Michael Strout, 53. His son was a passenger in the pickup truck but was not hurt, nor was the driver of the container truck, according to Chris Donahue, chief deputy for the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
The accident occurred on U.S. 1A in the vicinity of the VFW Hall, which is located approximately a half-mile east of the intersection with U.S. 1.
Strout was driving a 2000 Chevrolet pickup truck east and crossed the centerline into the path of a 2014 Peterbilt truck traveling west and driven by Stephen Robinson, 46, of Milbridge, according to Donahue.
The crash happened shortly after 7 a.m., and Strout was pronounced dead at the scene.
The cause of the accident and the reason why Strout crossed the centerline are under investigation, Donahue said. He did not know the approximate speed of the two vehicles but indicated that speed was not a factor in the crash.
Strout’s son as well as Robinson were wearing seatbelts, but Strout was not.
Donahue said Strout’s son, a juvenile who was not identified, was transported to Down East Community Hospital in Machias as a precaution.
The pickup truck was a total loss, said Donahue, and the other truck, which is used to haul roll-off construction and waste disposal containers, suffered extensive damage.
Besides the sheriff’s office, Maine State Police, Milbridge police, the Marine Patrol, Harrington and Addison firefighters, and Pleasant River Ambulance assisted.