SUMNER — On the night of Monday, July 17, a blue Chevy pick-up truck collided with the front of a house located at 1224 Main St. (Route 219) in Sumner.

Deanna Emery, a Livermore Falls woman whose cousin lives in the house that was hit, said that it was the second time in three months that a car has struck the house.

CURVE ON THE ROAD — A house located at 1224 Main St. was struck by a vehicle for the second time in three months Monday night, July 17. Deanna Emery, whose cousin lives at the house, the 45 mph speed limit is too high for that section of the road, and said that people go too fast around the curve near the house.

In April, a vehicle struck one of the posts holding up the portico in front of the house, causing minor damage.

This time, the pick-up truck knocked down the posts holding up the portico that was affixed to the front of the house, which caused the portico to collapse on top of a picnic table where Emery and her family typically hold picnics and family gatherings.

The Oxford County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating the accident, and what prompted the driver – who has not yet been identified by police – to hit the house.

However, Emery said that she believes speed is the problem.

Speed limit

Emery said that the speed limit is 45 mph on the section of Main Street in front of the house her cousin lives in.

“To be honest, that’s too fast,” Emery said. “There’s a pretty sharp corner right before the house, which is a problem if a car is speeding.”

She added that the road has been paved “a couple of times” – once last summer, and 10 years prior to that.

“Whenever they do work and the road is newly paved, it causes cars to go much faster,” she said.

The roadwork has also resulted in the road becoming wider, but the shoulder next to the road narrowing.

“It seems like every time work is done on the road, they take out a little bit more of the banking where the posts for the portico are driven in,” Emery said. “I understand that they’re trying to make the road bigger for the cars, but it makes our house that much closer to the cars driving by.”

Emery said that after the latest accident, “we’re at our wit’s end.”

“There are very unsafe conditions on that road and nothing is being done about it,” she said.

Close calls

Emery said that both times that the house was struck, her cousin and his girlfriend were out of the house. Nobody was injured.

“The scary thing is that people could have easily been there,” Emery said. “We have picnics and family gatherings in that area. It easily could’ve been a … fatal situation. How can they lay their heads down at night knowing that this is happening and that the issue hasn’t been resolved?”

Emery said that the house is currently part of a trust in her grandmother’s name and that her cousin has been living there for awhile.

She said that within the portico are “a lot of my great-grandparents’ belongings that have sentimental value to our family.”

“It’s a lot of stuff that my grandmother held onto,” Emery said. “At this point, we’re not sure the condition that the belongings are in, but it’s right in the area that was hit by the truck.”

Emery said that her cousin was “still fixing the problems from the first time [the house was hit].

“This time, it’s going to be a lot more expensive,” she added.

She said that while she lives in Livermore Falls, she has a camp “a hop, skip and a jump” from the house on Main Street.

“I have a lot of cousins that live nearby and own a huge part of that area,” Emery said. “Even though nobody was hurt, it’s the principle of the matter. I want to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

No official cause has been released by the Sheriff’s Office for what prompted the driver of the truck to collide with the Main Street house. Calls made to the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office were not returned by deadline.

Emery said that she did not see any brake marks leading up to the site of the accident, which “makes me believe that whoever was driving did not hit his brakes.”

She said that she’s unsure of how to get people to slow down on the road, but wants something to be done.

“We don’t know what other routes to take,” Emery said. “This is the second time it’s happened. I don’t want it to happen again.”

mdaigle@sunmediagroup.net