8 on UMPI trip injured in Monticello

MONTICELLO — Eight people on a University of Maine at Presque Isle-sponsored trip were taken to the Houlton Regional Hospital Saturday after their van was involved in an accident at about 7:30 a.m. on Route 1 in Monticello.

Enrolled in the Outdoor Adventure Program International, the group was on its way to raft down the Kennebec River, according to Erin Benson, director of public relations at the university.

Penny Dionne, 21, of Limestone was admitted to the hospital for injuries.

Those treated at the hospital, then released, were Scott Jackson, 21, of Caribou and Charles Hammersley, 42, the driver; Melissa Cowett, 15; Bree Norsworthy, 13; Kira Walker, 14, and her mother, Helen Walker, 49; and Jamie Fitzherbert, 13, all of Presque Isle.

Trooper Anita Levesque said Hammersley was driving south when he saw some cats in the road and swerved the van in an attempt to avoid hitting them.

Levesque said that the rafting equipment tied to the top of the vehicle shifted and caused the driver to lose control of the van.

The van, which did hit one cat, left the road, struck the ditch, crossed the driveway of a private residence, and struck a rock and culvert before hitting a tree stump.

The front tire on the driver’s side was torn from the 1990 Ford Maxivan, which was destroyed, she said.

Levesque said she does not plan to file charges in the accident.