LITCHFIELD, Maine — Two elderly women were killed Tuesday when the car they were in collided with a tractor-trailer at the intersection of Route 126 and Hallowell Road, a Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office official said Tuesday.
Anita Wade, 82, of West Gardiner, was a rear-seat passenger in a sedan driven by 92-year-old Grace Marston, also of West Gardiner. Wade was pronounced dead at the scene, Sheriff Maj. Ryan Reardon said in a news release.
Marston was transported to Central Maine Medical Center by LifeFlight with life-threatening injuries that included head trauma, he said. Marston later died at the hospital, WGME reports.
A 14-year-old female passenger, who also was sitting in the rear seat, was injured and taken to CMMC in Lewiston for treatment, Reardon said. Her injuries were not life-threatening.
The driver of the tractor-trailer, owned by Steve A. McGee Construction of Gardiner, was Robert Morang, 67, of Chelsea. He was not injured, but was taken to Maine General Medical Center, where a blood sample was taken, Reardon said.
“There was no indication that drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash. The blood sample was part of the normal investigation,” the sheriff said.
He said the Maine State Police Commercial Vehicle Unit was called to the scene to evaluate the tractor and trailer. The Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office worked closely with the Maine State Police to reconstruct and forensically map the scene of the collision.
The crash happened shortly after 11 a.m., when Marston’s car and the tractor-trailer crashed. The sedan, which was hit broadside, was partially lodged under the front end of the tractor-trailer, Reardon said.
He said the intersection at which the crash happened is a four-way with through traffic traveling east and west. The tractor-trailer was traveling west toward Tacoma Lakes. The sedan was traveling north across the intersection.
The road was closed until shortly after 4 p.m., he said.
Emergency medical and fire personnel from Litchfield, Gardiner and Monmouth assisted at the crash scene.
“This was a tragic and complex crash scene,” Reardon said. “I am grateful to all of the agencies that responded and took such great care of those involved.
“It was very difficult to handle numerous family members arriving to check on loved ones,” he said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those involved.”
BDN writer Nok-Noi Ricker contributed to this report.