3 injured in Frankfort collision; 2 sisters still in hospital

FRANKFORT – Two elderly Searsport sisters remained hospitalized Monday with injuries from a three-car collision during the height of Friday’s snowstorm.

Carmen Lavertu, 69, and her sister, Rella Bezanilla, 68, were taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor after the wreck.

Bezanilla, the driver, was in serious condition with internal injuries. Her passenger, Lavertu, was in critical condition with a broken neck, according to Waldo County Deputy Sheriff Benjamin Seekins.

The sisters were traveling south on Route 1A near the Marsh Stream in Bezanilla’s 1987 Toyota sedan when their vehicle skidded into the path of two northbound vehicles. The skidding car sideswiped a 1996 Toyota sedan driven by Robert Neill, 38, of Hampden, then collided head-on with a 1993 Hyundai sedan driven by Roger Peppard, 38, of Pittsfield. Peppard suffered a broken wrist; Neill was uninjured.

Bezanilla, Lavertu and Peppard were taken by ambulance to Waldo County General Hospital. Peppard was treated and released. The two sisters were stabilized and then taken to Bangor for additional treatment, Seekins said Monday.

Seekins attributed the accident to poor driving conditions.