Driver inattention causes 3-car pileup in Sangerville

SANGERVILLE – Driver inattention caused a chain reaction of motor vehicle accidents on Thursday afternoon on Route 23, police said.

Logan Pingree, 20, of Sangerville was traveling behind three vehicles when he failed to notice the lead vehicle was turning off Route 23 onto a side road and that the other two vehicles had slowed in response, according to Trooper Adam Coover of the Maine State Police. The accident occurred at about 4:30 p.m.

Pingree’s 1997 Pontiac Grand Am struck the rear of a 1997 Lincoln Mark V8 driven by George Olson, 80, of Greenville, Coover said. The force pushed Olson’s vehicle into the rear of a 1995 Pontiac Grand Am operated by Ann Goulette, 47, of Dexter, he said.

The driver of the vehicle that turned was not involved in the accident and the driver’s name was not released.

Pingree, Goulette and Olsen, the only occupants in the three vehicles, received minor injuries and were treated at the scene by Mayo Regional Hospital ambulance personnel, Coover said. All three were wearing seat belts at the time of the accident and Pingree’s air bag deployed, he said.

Coover estimated damage to Pingree’s vehicle at $5,000 and Olson’s car at $6,000. He said Goulette’s vehicle had minor damage.

No charges are pending, according to Coover, who was assisted at the scene by Investigator Allen Emerson of the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department and Sangerville firefighters.