Two of six drivers whose vehicles spun or slid off icy Route 108 in Livermore during Wednesday afternoon’s rain storm ran for cover to avoid being hit, one of them said.

When it was over, three vehicles were demolished and two drivers were hurt, Livermore fire Chief Don Castonguay said.

Paul Main, who resides at 302 Canton Road, said he heard two loud bangs and knew instantly it was an accident.

“I came out, and a pickup was in the ditch. That’s when the show really started,” he said.

Main said shortly after the pickup went off the road a black van driven by a woman started spinning in circles and went into the ditch on the opposite side of the road.

Jessica Cummings, who works as an EMT for Med-Care Ambulance and was returning home to Auburn, said when she drove onto the scene she saw the black van and a blue van go into the ditch.

“That’s when the three others went off into the ditch farther up,” she said.

Carl Knight of Dixfield, who was driving the blue van, said he tried his best to keep his vehicle on the road. He received a head laceration and said he would most likely need stitches.

“I was actually heading to Boston,” he said.

The woman in the black van was taken to the hospital by NorthStar Ambulance after complaining of neck pain, Castonguay said.

Jim Milligan of Gorham was driving the pickup and had his Dalmatian, Sparky, with him. They were not injured.

Milligan said a red truck started to go sideways and was headed directly for his truck.

“I tried to not hit him, but I touched his back end, and it sent me right into the trees,” he said. “Afterward, I was off to the side talking to one guy and all of a sudden we heard a crash, and we ran behind the truck. I mean that’s how bad it was.”

Canton Fire Department and Maine State Trooper Thomas Pappas also responded to the scene, which was just before the Hartford town line.

In nearby Canton, Oxford County Sheriff’s Sgt. Tim Holland investigated two accidents during the afternoon. At approximately 1:30 p.m. he went to a rollover on Canton Point Road near the Canton trailer park.

Charles Sweeney of Jay was driving a Ford Ranger pickup south down a hill when he lost control of it, and it rolled into a tree. Holland said Sweeney wasn’t injured, but the truck was demolished.

At 2:55 p.m. Holland went to a head-on collision on Route 140 near the Canton-Jay town line.

“Two vehicles actually sideswiped each other, but no one was injured,” he said.

Holland said Route 140 was shut down for approximately 15 minutes until the road was sanded.

“Quite a few tractor-trailer trucks had pulled over and waited for a sanding truck to go by as they were headed for the Jay mill,” he said.

“Most of the roads today were just not safe to be driving on at all,” he said.

Oxford County Sheriff Wayne Gallant agreed, saying he traveled behind a line of 40 to 45 cars on Route 26 during the day.

“They were all keeping it down to 35 mph, and no one was trying to pass,” he said.

Brian Burne, highway engineer for the Maine Department of Transportation, said temperatures had begun to warm up around 5 p.m. and most of the state roads were melting.

“Western Maine is still seeing freezing rain and icy roads though,” he said.

Around 7:30 p.m. Med-Care and fire departments in central and eastern parts of the county were responding to multiple accidents as public works departments worked to spread sand and salt on the roads.

Gallant said between 5 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday his department responded to approximately 10 motor vehicle accidents.

ecox@sunjournal.com

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