Four hurt in Oxford crash

Chuck Blaquiere photo

Firefighters work to help those involved in a  two-car accident that also involved a utility pole and an electrical transformer on Route 26 in Oxford. The crash forced traffic to be rerouted and power was out in the area near the accident. 

- Chuck Blaquiere photo

Chuck Blaquiere photo

Firefighters work to help those involved in a  two-car accident that also involved a utility pole and an electrical transformer on Route 26 in Oxford. The crash forced traffic to be rerouted and power was out in the area near the accident. 

- Chuck Blaquiere photo

Chuck Blaquiere photo

Firefighters work to help those involved in a  two-car accident that also involved a utility pole and an electrical transformer on Route 26 in Oxford. The crash forced traffic to be rerouted and power was out in the area near the accident. 

- Chuck Blaquiere photo

Chuck Blaquiere photo

Firefighters work to help those involved in a  two-car accident that also involved a utility pole and an electrical transformer on Route 26 in Oxford. The crash forced traffic to be rerouted and power was out in the area near the accident. 

- Chuck Blaquiere photo

OXFORD — Four people were injured Wednesday afternoon in a head-on collision in front of the Undercover Flea Market on Route 26.

Wesley Foster, 38, and John Davis, 17, both of Jam Hill Road in Oxford, were trapped in their van after it struck a utility pole, snapping it in half and sending a transformer and live wires down on the vehicle, Oxford police Lt. Mike Ward said.

"When I first walked into the scene I didn't have a good feeling about it because it was so horrific," he said. "Luckily there were no deaths in this accident."

He said Foster suffered head injuries.

Also hurt in the 4 p.m. collision were Kyle Raymond, 17, of East Main Street in Paris and Falon Turner, 17, of Maple Street in Norway, Ward said. They were taken to Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway to be checked for chest and neck injuries. Both were wearing seat belts when they crashed, the investigator said.

A nursing supervisor said Foster was transferred to Maine Medical Center in Portland. The spokeswoman said there was no information on Davis, and because Raymond and Turner are juveniles the hospital could not release information on them.

Ward said Raymond was driving north and turning into the flea market when his 1999 Saab sedan hit Foster's southbound 1996 Dodge Caravan nearly head-on.

"The impact pushed the Saab back more than 30 feet," Ward said, and Foster's van ricocheted off the car and into the FairPoint Communications pole that also carried Central Maine Power Co. wires and transformer.

"As hard as it sounds, we just stand back and wait," said Lt. Paul Hewey of the Oxford Fire Department, who waited at the accident scene with other rescue workers until CMP arrived to shut off the power. "We presume any wire is live."

Ward said when he arrived he found a bystander had walked up to the vehicle and fortunately was not electrocuted.

"We strongly recommend you don't go near downed power lines," he said.

Rescue workers used extrication tools to get Foster and Davis out. Davis was belted, Ward said, but he had not determined if Foster was.

Both vehicles were demolished.

Power along Route 26 from Skeetfield Road south to Rollerrink Road was not expected to be restored until midnight, Ward said, and fire police remained at the accident scene until then. The highway was reopened by 6 p.m.

No charges were brought, said Ward, who was assisted by Oxford PD Sgt. Rickie Jack and reservist Shawn Wood, Oxford Fire and Rescue departments, and Maine State Police.

Staff Editor Mary Delamater contributed to this report.