Perry crash kills man, injures wife

PERRY – A Baileyville man was killed and his wife injured Tuesday when the minivan they were in slid on snowy Route 1 and struck a utility pole.

Lloyd Cox, 77, died at the scene, while his wife, Patricia Cox, 70, was taken to Calais Regional Hospital for what Trooper Donald Webber said was minor trauma to one side of her head, bruising and contusions.

Patricia Cox was still being treated at the Calais hospital and was listed in fair condition, a hospital official said late Tuesday evening.

Lloyd Cox was the passenger in the minivan and was wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident, but Webber said the passenger side of the vehicle took the brunt of the damage.

“Most of the damage was on the passenger side where he was sitting,” the trooper said.

Patricia Cox was driving but wasn’t wearing a seat belt, Webber said.

Snow showers had fallen periodically through the day, and there was snow on the road at 4 p.m. when the crash occurred, the trooper said.

Authorities blocked off Route 1 for about half an hour to 45 minutes and reopened it to one-lane travel for another two hours to preserve the scene and to allow investigators to take measurements.