LEWISTON – One teenager was killed and another seriously injured Wednesday night after a car struck a pole at Canal and Lisbon streets.
Police said 17-year-old Kenneth Jellison of Auburn was the sole passenger in a car that slid sideways into the metal pole at about 9:30 p.m. He was dead when police and emergency officials arrived.
The driver, 17-year-old Kyle Karkos of Auburn, was extricated from the car by firefighters and was being evaluated late Wednesday at Central Maine Medical Center. Police said Karkos suffered broken bones and a possible head injury.
Police were speaking with possible witnesses to the crash, including Jellison’s brother, who was in a nearby car at the time of the collision.
“At this point, we’re saying speed was definitely a factor,” said Lewiston police Lt. Tom Avery. “We still need to interview witnesses, and we’ll be waiting for results of a reconstruction.”
Jellison and Karkos were seniors at Edward Little High School in Auburn. EL Principal James Miller had not heard about the crash late Wednesday night.
However, he said school administrators would be quick to provide crisis counseling to any other students who may need it today.
“We’ll have counselors available and the staff available to the students,” Miller said.
The crash scene was emotional, with Jellison’s brother and friends on hand after jumping from a nearby car after witnessing the crash.
Just minutes after the crash, Jellison’s mother and father showed up on Canal Street and learned their son was dead.
Police said Karkos had been driving on Canal Street, toward Lisbon, when his car crashed into the pole behind Bilodeau Insurance, which sits between the two streets.
The 1993 Honda Civic they were riding in was mangled, with pieces of the car strewn on the street and across the Bilodeau parking lot.
Witnesses said it appeared the car that crashed had been driven at high speed as it raced with a car next to it. Police did not want to comment on that phase of the investigation as the reconstruction was getting under way.
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