ELLSWORTH, Maine — Five people were injured — at least one of them seriously — in a three-vehicle crash on Route 1A in Ellsworth, Police Chief Pete Bickmore said Thursday night.
The crash happened shortly before 3 p.m. near Moto Car, a former antique auto dealership business, when a southbound black Ford sedan driven by Jonathan Rigg, 28, of Harrington crossed the centerline and sideswiped a southbound tractor-trailer driven by Roderick Lander, 64, of Guilford.
The Ford then ricocheted into a blue Pontiac traveling behind the tractor-trailer driven by Holly Knowles, 54, of Brewer, the chief said.
Bickmore said that at least one of the four passengers in Rigg’s vehicle, a 28-year-old woman who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected, and at least one of the three children, ages 4, 8 and 10, also might have been thrown from the vehicle. The passengers’ names were not immediately available.
All five of the people riding in Rigg’s car were taken to Maine Coast Memorial Hospital, he said. Four of them later were taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor by a LifeFlight ground crew because weather conditions did not allow for a flight.
Rigg suffered a fracture in the crash, and the woman and the 10-year-old had cuts and bruises, Bickmore said. He said the 4-year-old is believed to have suffered a head injury and was in serious condition Thursday night. The 8-year-old suffered liver lacerations, he said.
Knowles suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene, and Lander was not injured, Bickmore said.
It was not immediately clear why Rigg crossed the centerline.
Ellsworth police were assisted at the crash scene by Ellsworth firefighters and emergency medical personnel, Maine State Police, the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office and the Maine Department of Transportation, Bickmore said.
The crash resulted in major traffic backups on Route 1A, he said.