Rumford, Dixfield women identified as victims of deadly crash in Albion

Officials respond to a deadly car crash Friday at the intersection of Belfast and Unity roads in Albion. One person was killed and another was injured after a pickup truck collided with a van. Courtesy of Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office

ALBION — The Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office has identified the people killed and injured in Friday’s crash at Unity and Belfast roads.

Kandi L. Carrier, 38, of Rumford, was pronounced dead at Northern Light Inland Hospital in Waterville on Friday afternoon.

Carrier had been a passenger in the silver Toyota Sienna minivan driven by Mandy L. Thibodeau, 46, of Dixfield, when it collided with a silver Ford F-350 pickup truck.

Thibodeau, who was trapped in the van after the crash, was taken by LifeFlight of Maine to Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor after the Albion Fire Department freed her from the vehicle, according to a news release issued Tuesday by the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office.

On Tuesday, Thibodeau was listed in fair condition.

Friends of Carrier have set up a gofundme.com fundraiser to help the family. Donations can be made at gofund.me/d3fd01b9.

Stephen Bard, 51, of Unity was arrested on charges of causing serious bodily injury or death while license suspended and causing death while operating under the influence, both felonies. He was also charged with operating after suspension and aggravated leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident, both misdemeanors.

The Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office declined to say what Bard’s blood alcohol content was; in Maine, anyone with a blood alcohol content of .08% or more can be prosecuted for operating under the influence.

Court filings, however, say Bard’s blood alcohol content was .09%.

The crash was reported around 3 p.m. Friday at Unity Road, which is also U.S. Route 202, and Belfast Road, which is also Route 137.

First responders found two women in the minivan and no one in the pickup truck. A witness reported the driver of the truck had fled into the woods.

Kennebec County deputies, with the help of a police dog, conducted a search while deputies from the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office went to the home of Bard, who was the registered owner of the truck.

When Bard arrived home around 7:30 p.m., he was arrested by the Waldo County deputies and taken to the scene of the crash, where he was identified by the witness as the person who had fled into the woods after the crash.

The Maine State Police are performing a crash reconstruction.

Bard’s bail was set at $3,500.