Three dead in car crash near Canadian border

JACKMAN – Three young men heading to Canada died when their car slid into the path of a tractor-trailer during a heavy downpour, an investigator said Saturday.

Daniel Gary, 18, of Abbot Village was killed along with his passengers, Jonathon Prescott, 20, of Abbot Village and Benjamin Edgerly, 20, of Guilford, said Deputy Chris McKenna of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department.

There was heavy rain at the time of the accident at 1:38 p.m. Friday on Route 201. The truck driver, who was not injured, said Gary’s 1996 Ford Contour was spinning out of control and might have been hydroplaning.

McKenna said it was raining so hard that he had to slow to 30 mph while trying to get to the scene. The investigation is continuing, but there’s no evidence alcohol was a factor, he said.

The accident happened about six miles from the Canadian border, and Route 201 was closed for several hours.