NEWRY – A Rumford woman was injured Wednesday morning after being ejected from her pickup truck when it rolled off Route 2 and smacked a utility pole, police said.
Ashley Hautaniemi, 24, was in fair condition Wednesday night at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, according to a nursing supervisor.
The accident happened at about 8 a.m. when Hautaniemi was driving west in her 2003 Toyota as she was headed to work, investigating Oxford County Sheriff’s Sgt. Timothy Holland said late Wednesday morning.
Holland said Hautaniemi was passing cars in a sweeping curve near the Route 26 intersection in a no-passing zone, when she lost control after passing a tractor-trailer truck.
“Speed was definitely a factor,” he said.
The pickup left the road and rolled on its side, jumped a ditch while semi-airborne, then slammed into the pole.
The truck’s cab struck the pole, crushing the passenger compartment, Holland said.
“I don’t believe she was wearing a seat belt,” he added.
Med-Care Ambulance responded, then called for a medical helicopter, which took the injured woman to the Lewiston hospital.
Holland said Hautaniemi was conscious when LifeFlight arrived.
Other responders included Newry firefighters, Bethel police and off-duty Dixfield Patrolman Mark Dow, whose car was one that Hautaniemi passed, Holland said.
The truck was totaled.
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