WARREN — To those living in the area, a sudden noise was a reminder of metal being thrown into a dumpster. But then the fire department pagers started to alarm.

When a firefighter who lived nearby reached the intersection of Western Road and Camden Road, in Warren, step one was to follow the smoke emanating from the hood of a small car. A fire extinguisher was used to suppress the flames that were growing in the engine compartment, the result of a two vehicle collision involving the car (with New Jersey plates) and a box truck at approximately 9:10 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 19. When the first firetruck arrived, on-scene help further saturated the engine using a hose line.

Step two was to get the passengers out of the back seat.

At least two people were transported to Pen Bay Medical Center in ambulances provided by Warren and Waldoboro. Later on, North East Ambulance Service responded to check out another individual.

For approximately an hour and a half, Camden Road was down to one lane while Warren firefighters and deputies from the Knox County Sheriff’s Office tended to the vehicles involved, the traffic attempting to travel through, and the people on scene.

“During our investigation the male operator of the box truck was traveling North on Western Road when he failed to yield to the right of way to a vehicle traveling south on Camden Road (RT90),” said the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.

Three adults and one juvenile were transported Pen-bay for medical evaluation.

Junk Yard Dog hauled away the car and AutoMaster Towing towed the delivery truck.

The operator of the white box truck, Nivar Deleon of Massachusetts, was issued a citation for failing to yield to right of way.

For some, this latest motor vehicle crash is further evidence that a round-about is the solution to prevalent traffic issues in the area. In April 2023, Maine Department of Transportation emailed a letter to the Town Manager, Sherry Howard, announcing preliminary engineering for a reconstruction project of Route 90 at Western Road. (Intersection Reconstruction, Route 90 Federal Project Number: 2703600 State Project Number: 027036.00)

“The purpose and need of this project are safety improvements by installing a roundabout on Route 90,” said MDOT, in the letter.

The project is further described as follows: Install Roundabout at Route 90 and Western Road. (Click here to view location map.) 

MDOT planned to hold a preliminary virtual public meeting for this project as soon as existing conditions survey is completed.