WARREN, Maine — Two women were seriously injured late Sunday afternoon when a pickup truck struck a tractor-trailer, according to police.
The women were thrown out of the pickup truck by the impact. Two dogs also were ejected from the pickup truck, and one of the animals died.
The 1987 Dodge pickup truck the women were in was traveling too fast for road conditions as the women were heading south on Route 1 in Warren, Lt. Reginald Walker of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday night. The roads were snow-covered with more snow falling when the crash happened at 5:20 p.m. The pickup slid into the path of a northbound 2001 Mack tractor-trailer truck and struck its rear wheels, according to Walker.
A news release Monday morning from Chief Deputy Tim Carroll reported that 55-year-old Cassandra Bean of Alfred, the driver of the pickup truck, was taken to the Miles Campus at Lincoln Healthcare in Damariscotta and was in serious condition. Her passenger, 57-year-old Lauren Morrissette of Alfred, was taken to Miles in critical condition and then taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland by Waldoboro Emergency Medical Services. No information was available Monday on Bean’s condition, but Morrissette was still listed in critical condition Monday morning at Maine Medical.
Neither woman was wearing a seat belt.
The driver of the tractor-trailer, Aaron Grindle, 48, of Waldoboro, suffered a leg injury but declined to be taken to the hospital.
Route 1 was closed for a period as officers investigated the crash and tried to reconstruct what occurred. The Knox County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the crash and was assisted by Waldoboro police, the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office and Maine State Police, as well as Warren and Waldoboro fire and rescues.