2 hurt when car strikes store in Baileyville

BAILEYVILLE – A single vehicle hit and demolished a gasoline pump and then smashed into the side of a convenience store Thursday night, according to police.

According to eyewitnesses, at approximately 8:45 p.m., a four-door late model vehicle traveling west toward Route 1 failed to stop at the stop sign at the Route 9 intersection. The vehicle raced through the intersection, sped across the parking lot of the Irving Big Stop, and was reportedly airborne for about 100 feet. The vehicle narrowly missed four diesel fuel pumps before destroying a fifth, and then flipped over before colliding with the side of the truck parts store, finally coming to rest on its roof against the side of the building.

The rear of the building was completely demolished; plate glass windows were smashed and the corner of the store was in ruins. The middle-aged driver of the vehicle was injured in the crash, as was a male store employee when the car hit the building. Both men were taken by ambulance to the Calais Regional Hospital. Their conditions were unknown at press time.

The accident remains under investigation.

Assisting at the scene were the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Maine State Police and Baileyville fire and ambulance crews. Diesel fuel spilled at the scene was being cleaned up by emergency personnel.