TURNER — A three-vehicle crash on Route 4 closed the road to traffic for about four hours Monday and left one man in critical condition at Central Maine Medical Center.
A United Ambulance crew is being credited with saving the life of Brian Cox, 55, of Manchester, who was taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston after being extricated from his pickup truck, Lt. Glenn Holt of the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department said. Cox was listed in critical condition late Monday night, according to Holt.
Cox was northbound on Route 4 driving a 2000 GMC pickup when he veered left into the southbound lane and into the path of an oncoming rented Ryder single-axle truck driven by Burleigh Dudley, 48, of North Waterboro, Holt said. Cox’s struck the front driver’s side corner of Dudley’s truck, spun around back into the northbound lane and was hit by a northbound 1988 Chrysler two-door that was following him. The Chrysler was driven by Jennifer Mains, 25, of Auburn.
“All of a sudden, this guy just veered to the left and hit the other vehicle,” Holt said.
Dudley pulled the Ryder truck as far to the right as he could, but still could not avoid Cox’s vehicle, Holt said.
Mains was transported to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, according to Holt, and Dudley declined medical treatment at the scene. Holt said the crash remains under investigation as authorities try to determine what led Cox to suddenly veer into the oncoming lane. He added that blood-alcohol tests were administered, which is policy in serious accidents.
Crash reconstruction and commercial vehicle teams from the Maine State Police also assisted with the investigation. Emergency crews from Turner also assisted at the scene.
“There was an awful lot of metal and glass that we crunched up on,”
said Joy Campbell, of Livermore, who was driving one of only a handful of
vehicles to pass the accident before Route 4 was closed to traffic. “I
didn’t really get to see a lot because I was trying to watch where I
was going.”
The crash occurred about 6 p.m. in North Turner, Holt said, and forced
authorities to close the road in order to clear the scene and
investigate.
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