CUSHING, Maine — Three people were taken to the hospital Tuesday night following a crash on Route 97 that police said was due to speed.
The crash was reported at about 8 p.m. to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office. Arriving deputies found a 2005 Chevrolet truck that had rolled over multiple times and knocked down a utility pole.
The driver, Joseph Dinapoli, 25, of Cushing, told officers that a deer had run out in front of his truck and he lost control on a curve as he tried to avoid hitting it, according to Knox County Chief Deputy Tim Carroll.
The truck traveled about 120 yards, through the utility pole, and rolled over, coming to rest back on its wheels.
Dinapoli and his two passengers, Maxwell Hodgkins, 22, of Bath and Ryan McGlauflin, 21, of Edgecomb, were all taken by ambulance to Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport.
Dinapoli was released from the hospital shortly after arrival and the other two remained for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening, according to Carroll.
The crash is being reconstructed by Maine State Police and forensically mapped by members of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, Carroll said. He said speed appears to be a factor in the crash.
Members of the Cushing Fire Department assisted and medical professionals from Cushing, Warren and Thomaston provided care and transport.