Toddler killed, dad critical after crash Bay State family en route to Rangeley home

RANGELEY PLANTATION – A 2-year-old girl was killed and four other Newton, Mass., family members were injured – one critically – in a one-vehicle rollover while returning to their vacation home in Rangeley.

The accident occurred Saturday on Route 17 in Township D, just south of Rangeley Plantation and north of Rumford in western Maine.

Lia McInerney, 2, died after being taken by a LifeFlight helicopter to Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine State Police Trooper Scott Stevens said Sunday.

The father, Brian McInerney, 47, remained in critical condition Sunday night at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, a nursing supervisor said. He, too, was taken to the hospital by a LifeFlight helicopter. According to Stevens, the father was ejected from the vehicle and suffered a head injury.

Susan Stone-McInerney, 40, who was the driver of the vehicle, daughter Elise, 12, and son Drew, 9, were taken to Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington by Rangeley ambulance. The three were treated and released, according to a hospital spokeswoman there.

Stevens said that Stone-McInerney was driving a 2001 Land Rover north on Route 17 when the accident occurred. The family members were on their way back to their summer home in Rangeley after a day trip to New Hampshire.

As the vehicle traveled down a hill on a curve near Beaver Pond, the driver apparently was distracted and drove onto the gravel shoulder.

When Stone-McInerney tried to steer out of the gravel, she lost control and was headed for the pond. She then overcorrected her steering and the car

rolled over 21/2 times on the pavement.

According to Stevens, the toddler was seated behind the driver in a safety seat, but died of severe head trauma.

The 3:20 p.m. Saturday crash is being reconstructed by Trooper Kyle Tilsley, Stevens said, and several other troopers and a Franklin County sheriff’s deputy assisted at the scene.

A vehicle autopsy will be done to determine if there were any mechanical malfunctions or defects, he said.

The accident is still under investigation, Stevens said,

noting that alcohol and speed did not appear to be factors in the crash.

It was not known what distracted the driver, Stevens said.