Medomak Valley High School student hurt when hit by car

WALDOBORO – Less than a week after five Medomak Valley High School students were hurt in two car accidents, a sixth classmate was in critical condition Tuesday after being hit by a car Sunday while crossing U.S. Route 1 on foot.

Jessica Nichols, 16, of Waldoboro remained in critical condition Tuesday at Maine Medical Center in Portland after being struck by a sport utility vehicle as she attempted to cross the main highway that runs through town.Three other students in the high school remained hospitalized at Maine Medical Center as a result of injuries suffered in car crashes Thursday and Friday.

Brandon Achorn, 16, of Waldoboro was in critical condition from injuries he suffered Friday night when he lost control of his car on Old Augusta Road in Warren less than a mile from where four teens were hurt the night before in an accident on Route 235 in Waldoboro. Old Augusta Road and Route 235 intersect.

Maine State Police Trooper Mark Coleman is reconstructing the accident involving Achorn, while the Knox County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the crash. According to sheriff’s Lt. Larry Hesseltine, Achorn was traveling at an “extremely high rate of speed.” The accident is still under investigation.

In the Thursday crash on Route 235, four students were on their way to school when the driver lost control of the vehicle.

James McMahon, 16, of Union, was upgraded to serious condition Tuesday, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

He was a passenger in the car, which was driven by Krystal Baker, 16, of Union. She was admitted to Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport and was released Friday. Her sister, Sarah Baker, 14, had been treated and released. Emily Dean, 16, of Washington, also a passenger, was in satisfactory condition Tuesday at the Portland hospital.

In the Sunday accident, Nichols was crossing Route 1 on foot after getting off work at a Subway sandwich shop, Waldoboro police Chief Leroy Jones said Tuesday.

He believes she was heading for the Irving Mainway store on the opposite side when she was struck. Robert David Stein, 65, of West Bloomfield, Mich., who was driving the rental SUV, was not injured. Jones attributed the accident to poor visibility, noting it was dark and raining. He said no charges are pending.

In the case of the Thursday crash, charges are pending as investigators await results of a reconstruction, Jones.