Update: Feb. 21, 2024 8:30 a.m.

THOMASTON — As best as anyone can determine, the driver of a vehicle that continued to go straight instead of following the curve in the road near Strong Agency, in Thomaston, Tuesday morning, was suffering from a medical event, according to Thomaston Police Sgt. Chris Hansen. 

A day after the Feb. 20, 2024 two-vehicle collision on Main Street brought traffic to a standstill for nearly an hour, all three people involved in the crash are recovering from their various injuries. 

Names are being withheld at this time because an Adverse Driving Report has been submitted to the State in regard to the offending driver, according to Hansen. Because the driver had recently passed a medical exam as required by a previous Adverse Driving Report, Hansen is requesting that the driver’s license be suspended until a future medical exam is conducted.

The vehicle that was struck is a part of the RSU 13 bus fleet. Though some schools in the area are closed this week for vacation, some students within the district attend schools outside of the area. The RSU 13 driver was bringing a student to a program in Brunswick that does not follow the same vacation schedule. 

THOMASTON — The two bumpers and grills involved in a head-on collision in Thomaston this morning were so well molded together that when one wrecker tried to pull one of the vehicles onto the flatbed, the other vehicle moved right along with it. In the end, it was the increased incline of that bed that finally broke the two apart.

All three people involved in the crash were transported to Pen Bay Medical Center following the Feb. 20, 2024 incident at approximately 7:55 a.m. Yet, getting the adult and backseat child out of the white suburban was a bit more time-consuming. The adult in the front seat was unable to open the driver’s side door. Therefore, along with Thomaston Fire Department, Rockland FD’s utility truck was called for its extrication equipment. The evidence of that equipment’s usage can be seen by the warped tunnel-like appearance along the door’s frame.

After the driver was extricated, the child was then removed from the back seat.

In all, three ambulances responded: Thomaston, South Thomaston, and Warren. At the time of the call, Rockland already had an ambulance out on a call. Yet, after the section of Route 1 (Main Street), in front of the Strong Agency, reopened, and while the Thomaston rig was still at the hospital, Rockland EMS was called to Thomaston for a separate medical call. 

A man named Will, who works for Halls Funeral Home, happened to be in one of the next vehicles in line following the crash, jumped out and started directing traffic away from the scene. He remained at the task for 35 - 40 minutes longer, while Thomaston’s two on-duty police officers tended to the scene. 

Traffic north of the crash came to a standstill, with many drivers opting to turn around as they saw fit. Private traffic on the south side of the crash was turned around, with expectation that they would go up Oyster River Road. Big rigs coming from the south were allowed to drive along a dirt road that rolls through the Thomaston Green. After Will left, a Thomaston officer took over traffic at the south side, which happened to be an area that allowed approaching vehicles to see the mess and the emergency vehicles blocking the road. It was the officer who was subjected to a private driver who vented loudly that he had no time to go around, as he needed to be at work in 20 minutes. 

Working simultaneously and quickly, two Creek Hill towing wreckers pulled the vehicles onto flatbeds and hauled them from the scene, allowing the road to reopen at approximately 8:50 a.m.

Police continue to investigate the crash.

Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com