ROCKPORT – A Camden man died Wednesday night after suffering what initially appeared to be minor injuries in a three-vehicle accident on Route 1 earlier in the day.

The accident occurred near the Rockport-Camden town line near the Maritime Farms store at about 4 p.m. One of the drivers, Farrington Herrick, 71, of Camden suffered what appeared to be a bloody nose, and was complaining of hip pain, Rockport police officer Paul Pinkham said.

Herrick was transported by ambulance to Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport, where he was conscious. Pinkham said he talked with Herrick, and Herrick said he wanted to go home.

A few hours later, it was determined that Herrick was suffering from more serious injuries, and arrangements were made to transport him by helicopter to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. Pinkham said Herrick was declared dead during the flight.

The medical examiner ruled that the cause of death was internal injuries, Pinkham said. Herrick was wearing a seat belt at the time of the collision, and the air bag in his vehicle deployed.

Herrick was stopped in the southbound lane on Route 1 preparing to turn left into the Maritime Farms store, Pinkham said, when his 1991 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck was struck in the right rear by a 1998 Subaru station wagon driven by Angelina Dagostino, 79, of Camden. Dagostino also was traveling south.

The force of the collision pushed Herrick’s truck into the northbound lane, where it collided with the dual-tires of an 18-wheeler tractor-trailer. The flatbed truck, which was not carrying any load, was registered to and driven by Clarence Anderson, 62, of St. Stephen, New Brunswick.

Dagostino told Pinkham that she was distracted by something in her car, and looked up too late to see the stopped vehicle in front of her. She tried to pass on the right, but there was not enough room between the roadway and a utility pole.

Dagostino and Anderson were also wearing seat belts, and were uninjured in the collision. Pinkham said neither speed nor alcohol were factors in the crash.