ROCKLAND — The Rockland Lobster Festival Grand Parade was halted for approximately 20 minutes Saturday morning after two Shriner race cars collided at the intersection of Main and Willow streets.

Witnesses said the yellow race car was making a turn in the street when it collided with the black number three car, or cut it off, hit it broadside and pushed it up over the curb. The car knocked a woman, who was sitting in a camping chair, over backward, ran over the leg of 42-year-old Chris Burns of Thomaston and came to rest on top of his 9-year-old son, Noah, according to Burns.

Police said bystanders and Burns lifted the car off the young boy and dropped it back on the ground, with the driver still inside at the wheel.

“I was really scared because the car began smoking while it was on top of my son, and he had shorts on and I was afraid he was going to get burned in addition to other injuries,” said Burns. “Noah was afraid after that and didn’t want to have anything to do with the parade or the festival so we went home.”

Two Rockland fire trucks were following the Shriner racers as part of the parade and halted traffic until the race cars were removed to Maple Street. 

With the scene cleared the parade resumed, a little more sedately.

The woman was transported in an ambulance to Pen Bay Medical Center. Burns and his son, who both suffered bruises and cuts to their legs, were not taken to the hospital.

The Shriner wrecker hauled the Shriner car away.

 Reach Rachel Thomas at news@penbaypilot.com