WASHINGTON — Union Rescue transported a seriously injured person to an awaiting LifeFlight of Maine aircraft in Augusta, Monday afternoon, Aug. 25, 2025, following a box truck crash in Washington. This rollover occurred almost an hour after a less significant rollover in the same town, on the same road, and two hours prior to another vehicle going off the road at a different location along the same road.

Washington firefighters were alerted to a report of a box truck rollover at 12:15 p.m., just as the fire chief was walking in the door to the fire station after assisting at the scene of a single-vehicle rollover that landed in a driveway at 235 Augusta Road just prior to 11:22 a.m. That driver was transported to Pen Bay Medical Center with minor injuries. Another WFD firefighter had taken apparatus for a refill of fuel when the second rollover was announced for 26 Augusta Road, at the intersection of Route 17 (Augusta Road) and West Washington Road, with the vehicle having been traveling Route 17 in the eastbound direction.

Upon arrival, that firefighter encountered a construction company box truck on its side, off of the east bound lane, with the roof of the 4-5 person crew cab broken open by a large tree. None of the occupants were initially able to get out on their own.

Communication was limited due to language barrier, however, responders felt they could decipher enough of the Spanish being spoken to piece together a preliminary understanding of the situation. However, until a towing company could flip the truck back to its wheels, responders could not be completely certain that a fifth occupants wasn’t in the vehicle.

Of the four known occupants, one suffered injuries serious enough to suggest transport to a trauma center with the appearance of serious leg injuries and deep cuts, according to Sheriff Patrick Polky, while another was deemed serious and transported to Pen Bay Medical Center. The two other occupants, which included the driver, suffered minor injuries and declined to go to the hospital. Because of rain conditions in the region, LifeFlight limited its responses to outlying areas, instead favoring airport to airport and, in this case, Sanford Airport to MaineGeneral Augusta, and from there to Maine Medical Center.

Union Rescue responded automatically since it contracts with the Town of Washington for medical services. And then, with the number of potential patients involved in this incident, Waldoboro EMS was requested and responded.

Because the truck was a commercial vehicle, DPS Augusta responded to the 26 Augusta Road crash, along with deputies from the Knox County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators will assess the truck for mechanical problems as well as take speed into consideration, according to Sheriff Polky.

Augusta Road was down to one lane near 26 Augusta Road for approximately one hour. Washington FD left the scene at 1:40 p.m., leaving law enforcement to wait for a wrecker. Because all four wheels were undamaged, the wrecker only needed to return the vehicle back to its wheels and pull it from the scene, according to Polky.

At 2:25 p.m., Washington FD was called to 511 Augusta Road for a single vehicle that had gone off the road and a driver complaining of medical problems. That driver was transported to Pen Bay Medical Center. That stretch of road was closed for a brief time while the vehicle was pulled from the ditch.

Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com