Blown tire ruled out in accident that killed four

CORINNA — An on-site investigation Tuesday morning by an inspection expert from the Maine State Police has ruled out the theory that a ruptured or blown tire caused a quadruple fatal accident Sunday morning in Corinna.

Trooper David Bowler and Paul Bonenfant of the Maine State Police Traffic Division inspected the right front tire of Karen Lane’s 1986 Ford in Dexter. Bowler said that Jerry Lane, who was a front-seat passenger in the car driven by his wife, kept repeating to relatives on Monday that he thought the tire blew on the car, causing his wife to lose control.

Bonenfant, who studied the tire both on the car and removed from the vehicle, said, “We can rule out the tire as the cause” of the crash. He said that punctures and rim damage on the tire lined up with impact locations, and cuts were “only surface lacerations” caused by impact. He also noted that the steering mechanism was intact as well as the tie-rod system.

After studying Bangor Daily News’ photos of the accident scene, Bonenfant said that it was clear that the tire was still inflated half an hour after the accident and was not blown prior to the crash. He also conducted tests on the impact lacerations in the tire.

Bowler said he will attempt to reinterview Lane and another survivor of the crash, Keith Wells, after their conditions improve to attempt to piece together the few moments before the accident. “At this point, we are looking at driver error or inattention,” he said.

Bowler said that alcohol tests performed on both drivers were negative.

He also also ruled out speculation that the parties in both vehicles knew each other and had a background of feuding. “Rumors of a game of `chicken’ on the road are totally unfounded,” he said. “They knew each other, but distantly. It was totally random that they were on the same road at the same time.”

In attempting to reconstruct the accident, Bonenfant explained that the momentum of each vehicle was nearly identical; that is the combination of the weight and speed of both cars. When they collided, it was as if each individually hit a tree at 100 mph, said Bowler, since each vehicle was estimated to be traveling at 50 mph, the posted speed limit.

Injured in the accident and reported in serious condition at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor are Jerry Lane, 28, of Hartland, hospitalized with multiple trauma and serious facial injuries; Keith Wells, 18, of Pittsfield, in the intensive care unit with multiple trauma; and Alicia McAlpine, 7, address unkown, being treated for a broken leg and serious facial injuries.

Killed were Janis Carmichael, 33, her daughter, Deanna Carmichael, 16, and Albert Lockwood, 35, all of St. Albans, and Karen Lane, 32, of Hartland. Bowler said that the Lanes had been married only two weeks at the time of the accident.