OTISFIELD — One person was dead after a vehicle flipped onto its roof and burst into flames Wednesday night on Powhatan Road.
With wires down around the crash site, Central Maine Power shut off electricity to the area and it remained unknown when the power would be restored.
The first reports came in about 8 p.m. that the vehicle had flipped in the area of 493 Powhatan Road. The crash site is just a short distance from Forrest Edwards Road, in the area where Powhatan Road runs along Pleasant Lake.
With early reports that at least one person was trapped inside the wreckage, police and fire crews worked around downed power lines, attempting to free the victim. Rescuers also searched the area around the vehicle in case other passengers had been ejected in the crash. None were found.
Oxford County Sheriff’s deputies were joined at the scene by fire and rescue crews from Otisfield. Assistance was requested from departments in other towns, including Oxford and Casco.
A long section of Powhatan Road was closed to traffic as the rescue efforts were underway. Oxford County Sheriff’s officials put out a notice late Wednesday night advising that motorists should avoid Powhatan Road from the town line to Otisfield Elementary School.
More than a thousand homes and businesses were without power as a result of the crash.
“CMP has dumped the power grid for the area, this will effect the village area of Casco,” according to the notice, posted shortly after 9 p.m. “We don’t have any estimates when power will be restored at this time.”
No further information was available about the victim. The crash investigation was expected to continue into Thursday.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
