1 killed as car plunges into Lubec Narrows

LUBEC – One person was confirmed dead after a car plunged off a cliff into the water Thursday evening after speeding down a steep hill.

The name of the victim was not being released until relatives could be notified, authorities said. The car had been towed from the water by late Thursday night.

The Coast Guard said the late-model car sped down Main Street at about 5 p.m. before it crossed Water Street and plummeted from a 15-foot cliff into the Lubec Narrows, which separates Maine from New Brunswick’s Campobello Island. The water is about 20 feet deep where the car went in.

Two Maine Marine Patrol divers located the body of a female inside the car, Ensign Gabe Somma said.

The accident occurred at high tide when the car went down Main Street, which is a steep hill, crossed Water Street and went into the water about 200 feet from an embankment.

The incident was being investigated Thursday night by officers with the Washington County Sheriff’s Department, Lubec Division, and the state Marine Patrol.

The vehicle was visible in the water at low tide earlier Thursday night. Officials had placed spotlights on the vehicle. A red tarp was over the windshield, and a cable had been placed on a bumper, though the vehicle had not been moved shortly around 10 p.m.

A U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat out of Eastport was on the scene shortly after the accident, sweeping the area and looking for survivors. The boat left the area when it became apparent there were none.

Many townspeople milled around the water’s edge, watching the activities.

Officials expected to remain at the scene for several more hours through the night.