2 remain critical in separate Route 201 accidents

BINGHAM – A chain reaction accident Sunday afternoon in Bingham left one woman in critical condition while two others were treated at Reddington Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan for minor injuries and then released.

The accident came after one Saturday night in which a 21-year-old Massachusetts man was critically injured when he was struck by a car in The Forks.

Both accidents occurred on U.S. Route 201, the major tourist route between Canada and Maine. Last month on the same highway, three central Maine men were killed when their vehicle hydroplaned in a heavy downpour and slid into the path of a tractor-trailer about six miles south of the Jackman border crossing.

Somerset County Deputy Michael Knight said the Bingham accident began when a 1986 Chevrolet pickup truck operated by Christa Savage, 31, of Chesterville, stopped near the Route 201 rest area to make a left turn. A motorcycle hauling a trailer stopped directly behind Savage and a car stopped behind the bike and trailer. While the vehicles were stopped a fourth car approached at a high rate of speed and, sensing it would not stop, the third vehicle in line pulled out of the way.

The fourth car, a rented 2004 Mazda, operated by Corliss Nugent, 53, of San Diego, Calif., smashed into the trailer and split it in half. The Mazda continued and struck the motorcycle, propelling it into the ditch, and then struck the first vehicle in the line, the Chevrolet pickup truck.

Knight said the Mazda operator had fallen asleep.

Nugent’s passenger and the motorcycle operator, Daniel Piche, 34, of St. Henri, Quebec, were both treated for minor injuries. Piche’s passenger, however, Lyne Laprise, 48, also of Quebec, was critically injured. LifeFlight Air Ambulance was requested, said Knight, but was unable to respond due to mechanical problems.

Laprise was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor where she was listed in critical condition Monday afternoon.

In the earlier accident, Brian Thomas also was listed in critical condition Monday. Police said Thomas walked out into Route 201 from the Three Rivers Restaurant on Saturday night in The Forks. An oncoming vehicle struck him.