WOODSTOCK – A Sunday afternoon wreck on Route 26 sent four people to area hospitals – one man arriving there by LifeFlight after being removed from his vehicle with a hydraulic rescue tool.

Richard Tyler, 63, of Bethel, was still in surgery Sunday evening at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston after suffering extensive leg injuries. His 1992 Mercury was hit head-on by a 2001 Chevrolet driven by Edward Miller, 61, of Mexico, shortly after 3 p.m.

Oxford County Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Halacy said that Miller and his wife, Bonnie, 60, were northbound on Route 26 when they crested a hill just past Felt Road. On the other side of the hill, a 2004 GMC pickup driven by Douglas Bennett, 57, of Bryant Pond, was pulled over in the breakdown lane.

Bennett was hauling a 16-foot trailer with a fishing shack on it when the shack was caught by a gust of wind, broke loose from its tie-downs and blew off the trailer. Halacy said that the shack and truck were almost completely off the road, but that Miller said he swerved to miss the vehicles, as well as a small red car that appeared to be stopping to assist Bennett. Officers were unable to locate the car.

Swerving to miss Bennett’s vehicle put Miller into the oncoming path of the southbound vehicle driven by Tyler, who was traveling with Muriel Knightly, 60, of West Paris. The Millers and Knightly were taken to Stephen’s Memorial Hospital in Norway. Halacy said the Miller’s dog, who was also traveling with the couple, rode with its owners to the hospital.

Halacy said that the crash remains under investigation and that no one has been cited so far. He did, however, strongly urge people to secure items that they haul on trailers. He pointed out that the ice shack breaking free from its trailer was the initial event in the chain reaction.

“If you’re going to be towing something on a trailer, then it’s your responsibility to make sure it’s properly secured,” Halacy said.