A New Hampshire couple were severely injured after an Oxford County sheriff’s deputy crashed into them during a police chase in Fryeburg late last month, according to Maine State Police.
The incident began on Jan. 30 in Conway, New Hampshire, where authorities chased a black pickup truck across the Maine border and into Fryeburg.
Fryeburg police and the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office picked up the chase and tried to stop the truck on Main Street in Fryeburg, where the driver, 52-year-old Kenneth Ellis of Massachusetts, hit multiple vehicles and crashed into the snowbank in front of Norway Savings Bank.
Ellis then got out of the truck and allegedly approached a Fryeburg police officer with a knife in hand. That’s when he was shot by Fryeburg Officer Micheal St. Laurent, according to police. Ellis died at the scene.
The officer is on administrative leave, which is standard procedure as the Maine attorney general’s office investigates the officer-involved shooting.
Troopers tasked with investigating the crashes have released details about their findings.
In the first crash, Ellis was traveling on Main Street when his vehicle hit a 2006 Chevy Colorado making a left-hand turn into the Nouria parking lot, according to police. There was minor damage and no injuries.
Ellis then hit a Ford Focus also making a left-hand turn into the Nouria parking lot. The driver of the Ford Focus went to the hospital with minor injuries.
Ellis then rear-ended a Subaru Outback, which rolled over on its side. The woman driving the Subaru was extricated from the vehicle and taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
Ellis came to a stop after hitting a snowbank at the nearby Norway Savings Bank.
During the chase, Oxford County sheriff’s Deputy Justin Groetzinger crashed his Chevrolet Tahoe patrol vehicle into a Chrysler 300 that reportedly turned in front of him on Main Street in Fryeburg.
The Chrysler’s occupants — Danielle Hamalainen and her husband, Brandon Adjutant, both of Conway, New Hampshire — were both airlifted to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where they remain in critical condition.
Groetzinger was taken to a hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening.
“They both have broken ribs, he has a shattered pelvis, they both have brain injuries. Danielle also suffered a broken neck. So many injuries I can’t even remember them all,” said Hamailanen’s mother, Kathy Rogers-Hamalainen. “The important thing is, they’re fighting. Fighting for their lives. Everybody has been praying for them. We are going to get them through this.”