PARKMAN, Maine — The Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office has identified the two people who died and a third person who was injured in a single-vehicle crash early Saturday morning in Parkman.
Russell Silva, 36, and Pamela Burns, 27, died around 1 a.m. Saturday, when the pickup in which they were traveling missed a corner on North Dexter Road, struck a boulder and flipped, according to Lt. James Kane of the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office.
Kane said that Silva, formerly of Guilford, and Burns lived together in Parkman.
Silva most recently had been employed by Herrick Excavation and was the father of a son and a daughter, according to his obituary.
Burns was employed as a production manager at Erda in Dexter and the mother of a son, according to her obituary.
Surviving the crash was 42-year-old Michael Nickerson, who was thrown from the truck, according to Kane. Nickerson was taken by a LifeFlight of Maine helicopter to Eastern Maine Medical Center on Saturday morning.
Information about his medical condition was not available on Monday.
The deaths have hit Piscataquis County hard, which the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office made reference to on its Facebook page.
“Don’t take this thing we call living for granted; love those around you and pour yourself into their lives,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement on its page. “It’s how your life touches others that will matter when the weary cop knocks on their door.”
Speed and alcohol were likely factors in the crash, an emergency dispatcher with Piscataquis County said Sunday morning.
The crash remains under investigation.
A graveside memorial service for both Silva and Burns is set for 10 a.m. Friday at Pingree Center Cemetery in Parkman, according to Lary Funeral Home.
Those who wish may send memorial contributions for the benefit of Burns’ son, Royce Bridge, or Silva’s children, Gabriel and Sarah Silva, to Maine Highlands Federal Credit Union, P.O. Box 697, 23 Hudson Ave., Guilford, Maine 04443.
BDN writer Christopher Burns contributed to this report.