Slick road conditions cause 20 minor accidents

THOMASTON – Some 20 accidents occurred throughout Knox County Thursday and early Friday on snow-covered roads, causing only minor damage to vehicles and injury to one driver.

In Thomaston Friday, just after midnight, Daniel J. Lewis, 22, of Warren suffered a minor injury, according to police Sgt. Kevin Haj. Lewis was taken to Penobscot Bay Medical Center by Thomaston ambulance, he said. Lewis was treated and released, a hospital spokeswoman said Friday.

Lewis was traveling west on Route 1 in a 1991 Pontiac sedan when his vehicle drifted to the right side of the road near the traffic island at the intersection of Old County Road, according to police. Lewis overcompensated when steering back into his lane and went into a slide. His vehicle slid across the oncoming lane on Route 1 and went off the road, striking a utility pole.

The pole was inspected by Central Maine Power, Haj said, and did not need to be replaced. The Pontiac was considered a total loss, he said.

Lt. Reggie Walker of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said Friday that about 20 minor motor vehicle accidents had occurred during Thursday’s snowstorm. There were no injuries from the accidents, which deputies investigated, and only minor damage to vehicles.

The accidents were primarily caused by drivers who were traveling too fast for the road conditions and driver inexperience on snow-covered roads, he said.