Man charged in crash on Route 7 in Corinna

CORINNA — A three-car collision on Route 7 in Corinna sent four people to the hospital with minor injuries Thursday afternoon and landed one driver in jail.

Mark Ricker, 19, of Corinna was charged with driving to endanger after his compact Pontiac collided with a van load of senior citizens. According to investigating officer Trooper Roderick Charette, Ricker was scheduled to be released on bail.

Charette said Ricker was driving north on Route 7 at a rate of speed too great to stop for a new Jeep Cherokee stopped to make a left-hand turn onto Sugar Beet Road. Ricker attempted to veer left to avoid a collision only to collide with a van driven by Reginald Reeks, 70, of Dexter. When the Ricker car struck the Reeks van, it bounced off and collided with the Jeep, and came to rest in the middle of Route 7.

Ricker received minor cuts in the accident, while his passenger, Justin Bullock, 16, was taken to Sebasticook Valley Hospital by ambulance for a bump to the head.

Reeks told police he escaped injury because the airbag in his car deployed. Passengers in Reeks’ van included Fred McFarland, 63, of Long Beach, Calif.; Ethel Reeks, 68, Dexter; and Ervin Deal, 74, Virginia, all of whom were transported to the Pittsfield hospital and treated for minor injuries. Another passenger in the Reeks van was Alice Deal, 67, of Virginia.

None of the injured was wearing a seat belt, Charette said.

The driver of the Jeep, Peggy Seavey, and her daughter, Kristin, were not injured.

According to Charette, the Ricker vehicle was totaled and the Reeks van received $2,000 to $3,000 in damage. The Jeep sustained about $1,000 damage.

The accident remains under investigation, Charette said, and more charges may be pending.

Charette was assisted with the investigation by Troopers Chris Carr and Dave Millett. Emergency personnel who responded to the scene included Corinna ambulance and fire and Dexter ambulance.