PALMYRA – The well-marked intersection at Route 152 and Route 2 in Palmyra has been the site of many fatal accidents and Monday afternoon it claimed another victim – the fourth in seven years.

A. Neil Finlayson, 84, of Harmony died at the scene of the 5:10 p.m. crash, when the car in which he was a passenger crossed the intersection in front of an oncoming 1989 GMC van, according to police. The van struck the car broadside, directly where Finlayson was seated.

Injured in the crash were Finlayson’s wife, Helen Finlayson, 78, who was driving the 1993 Honda, and the van’s operator, Fred Trudell, 43, of Norridgewock. Both were treated for multiple injuries at Sebasticook Valley Hospital in Pittsfield.

Although LifeFlight Air Ambulance landed in a field near the intersection, it did not transport anyone and flew back to Bangor empty.

Firefighters from St. Albans brought extrication equipment to the scene and all three area ambulances – Sebasticook Valley, Hartland-St. Albans and Corinna – were pressed into service.

Hartland-St. Albans ambulance was forced to drive right through the accident scene to bring a patient from an unrelated incident to the hospital before they could return to the scene and load another patient.

Trudell explained to Somerset County Deputy Michael Knight that the Finlayson car was headed north on Route 152 and drove directly into the path of the van, which was headed eastbound on Route 2.

Knight said witnesses related that Helen Finlayson stopped at the stop sign but then continued into the intersection directly in front of Trudell.

Maine State Police reconstructionists were at the scene until past 8 p.m. and Routes 2 and 152 were partially shut down during that time.

Statistics kept by the Maine Department of Transportation revealed that a motorist is three times more likely to have an accident at that intersection than at any other intersection in the state.

Police and rescue personnel know when the call goes out for a crash at Ell Hill, it’s bound to be a serious one. In the past 7 years, dozens of serious accidents have occurred there, including the four fatal crashes, despite the flashing overhead lights, flashing warning lights on Route 2, stop signs on Route 152 and warnings painted in the roadway.

The last fatality at the site was in 2002 when Charles Perry, 37, of Troy was killed and three other people injured. Just two weeks later, another crash at Ell Hill sent four people to the hospital.

Nearly every accident at the location is caused by one of the drivers neglecting to stop at a stop sign, according to MDOT. About 20 years ago, MDOT dropped the height of the roadway coming from Pittsfield to Palmyra to help reduce the accident numbers. Accident statistics, however, have increased at the site.