LifeFlight carries man after wreck

MEDWAY – A 20-year-old Houlton man was taken by LifeFlight helicopter to a Bangor hospital after a vehicle accident on Interstate 95 Sunday morning.

Maine State Trooper Phil Dawson said Allan D. Gagnon II, 20, of Houlton was taken by LifeFlight to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. Gagnon later was reported to be in good condition, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Dawson said the accident, reported about 5:15 a.m., remains under investigation. It occurred just beyond the Penobscot River Bridge, located less than a mile from the Medway exit.

The trooper said Gagnon’s white 1992 Chevrolet Lumina was traveling south and struck some guardrails, went off the road, up an embankment and hit a tree, coming to a rest on its side. He said it appears the man fell asleep.

Dawson said initially it appeared Gagnon might have received serious injury, but later found he had suffered only minor injuries. “He was real lucky,” he said.

It took the East Millinocket Fire Department’s rescue crew about 90 minutes to cut Gagnon out of the car. Millinocket Fire Department crew also assisted.

Dawson, who was assisted by Troopers Dan Ryan and Seth Edwards along with East Millinocket police, said the car, owned by Jeffrey Bishop of Limestone, was a total loss.

Trooper Edwards said he had summoned Gagnon for operating a motor vehicle after the right to do so was suspended.