The two young men killed in a fiery crash in Arundel earlier this week died despite the efforts of an unknown man who tried frantically to rescue them after their truck slammed into a tree, WGME reported on Friday.
Witness Phil Nystrom told WGME that he was doing a crossword puzzle in his home when he heard the crash and, emerging from his home, saw what he said was “people running up and down the street here screaming their brains out.”
“There was one fellow that was trying to extricate one of the victims, and he couldn’t get the door open, and it was awful,” Nystrom said. “I mean, the fire was up about 25-30 feet from the truck.”
Jacob Dupuis, 20, of Gorham and Henry O’Neill, 19, of Standish died as a result of Thursday’s crash, which occurred on Log Cabin Road when the 2008 GMC Sierra rack body truck Dupuis was driving east on Log Cabin left the roadway at about 1:30 p.m., police said.
A former police chief, Robert St. Pierre, whose driveway adjoins the crash site, said this is the second crash this month in that area. The earlier crash was caused by speeding, St. Pierre said. State police who are investigating the latest incident haven’t said why it happened, WGME reported.
WGME reported that Dupuis and his passenger were classmates and athletes at Gorham High School. They graduated in 2019, Principal Brian Jandreau said.
“Staff are grieving. Students are grieving,” Jandreau said. “They were great kids. So giving. So well-loved in our community. What I would love to say is to tell the families how much we care about them, and we’re here to support them.”