Andover fire captain in critical condition after head-on crash

NEWRY — A captain with the Andover Fire Department remained in critical condition Monday with injuries suffered in a head-on collision on Sunday River Road, Oxford County Deputy James McLamb said.

McLamb said Dennis Hall was traveling to Sunday River Ski Resort to help make snow when a Dodge Ram pickup truck driven by Matthew Hamel of Bethel struck Hall’s GMC Sierra truck at 11:21 p.m. Friday.

McLamb said Hamel was driving south from the Matterhorn Ski Bar at 292 Sunday River Road.

Hall suffered a “pretty bad head injury,” McLamb said, and was taken by LifeFlight helicopter to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.

“As of right now, he is still in critical condition, but his condition hasn’t worsened,” McLamb said.

Hamel was not injured but was transported to Rumford Community Hospital by Oxford County Deputy Joshua Daley for a test to determine his blood-alcohol level, McLamb said.

“Those results are still pending,” he said.

While the crash reconstruction is ongoing, McLamb said it appears Hamel crossed the centerline and struck Hall’s truck head-on.

Both trucks were demolished and towed away, McLamb said.

mdaigle@sunmediagroup.net