Driver hurt as car vaults off highway Cape Elizabeth man may have had seizure

ETNA – A seizure is apparently the reason a 49-year-old Cape Elizabeth man veered off the road around Exit 42 on Interstate 95 Monday morning, leaving him severely injured.

Arthur Hicks remained in serious condition Monday night at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, according to a hospital official. The trooper investigating the incident said Hicks suffered substantial injuries.

“He has two broken ankles, some crushed vertebrae and some head wounds,” state Trooper Darren Vittum said.

Vittum said the call for assistance in the single-vehicle accident was received by dispatch around 9:15 a.m.

“An individual was driving northbound on I-95 and it looks like he may have suffered a seizure while driving,” he said. “He came down into the median and when he hit the other side his truck ended up vaulting through the air – ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ style – and landed on Route 143.”

The 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee, driven by Hicks, flew through the air for 30 to 40 feet before it landed on a Route 143 guardrail.

Hicks was taken by helicopter to Eastern Maine Medical Center. Vittum said Hicks had a seizure earlier this year.

“We’re not 100 percent sure he had a seizure [this time],” said Vittum, “but that’s what we’re leaning to.”