DEER ISLE — A Bucksport man delivering newspapers for the Bangor Daily News suffered cuts to his face, but no life-threatening injuries, when his car rolled off the Deer Isle causeway early Saturday morning, according to police.

Shawn Poliquin, 43, was driving on Route 15 toward Stonington when the accident occurred at about 5 a.m., according to Hancock County Deputy Sheriff Luke Gross. He said Poliquin’s 1998 Jeep Cherokee struck a coping stone on the southwestern side of the road, away from Eggemoggin Reach, causing it to roll over the stones and down the embankment.

Gross said the tide was out at the time of the accident, so the vehicle ended up on the mudflats rather than in the water. The car, which came to rest on its driver’s side, was “destroyed,” he said.

Poliquin was wearing a seat belt, according to the deputy. Had he not been wearing a seat belt, his injuries could have been “a lot worse,” Gross added.

The deputy said Poliquin was taken by Memorial Ambulance to Blue Hill Memorial Hospital, where Poliquin was treated and spoke with Gross. The accident appears to have been caused by a mechanical failure in the vehicle’s steering, Gross said.

Poliquin is believed to have been taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center for further testing, as a precautionary measure, but Gross could not confirm where Poliquin was taken to from the Blue Hill hospital.

There was a delay in delivering newspapers on the route while a substitute driver was being found. Most if not all of the newspapers being delivered flew out of the car because of the accident.

The (Deer Isle) Fire Department was able to retrieve most of the bundles (of newspapers),” the deputy said.