CANAAN – One man was killed and another seriously injured late Thursday night in a single-vehicle accident on U.S. Route 2 in this Somerset County town.

The passenger, Robert Tardiff, 32, of Fairfield was pronounced dead at the scene, shortly before 11 p.m.

The driver, Joshua Johnson, 29, of Pittsfield was taken by LifeFlight helicopter to Reddington-Fairview Hospital in Skowhegan, but his injuries were not considered life-threatening.

The accident occurred on a straight stretch of road about a mile from the center of Canaan, Somerset County Sheriff’s Deputy Kris McKenna said Friday afternoon.

The 1993 Subaru Impreza apparently veered off the road and struck a utility pole. The car was a total loss, the deputy said.

Rescue personnel had to cut the vehicle in half to extricate Tardiff, who died from severe trauma.

The cause of the accident had not been determined as of Friday, McKenna said, but investigators were working to reconstruct the crash.

It did not appear that either Tardiff or Johnson was wearing a seat belt, according to the deputy, but neither was ejected from the vehicle.