Knox teenager killed in head-on crash in Montville

MONTVILLE – A teenager was killed Wednesday and two others were severely injured when their compact car swerved out of control, crossed the centerline and crashed head-on into a 1-ton pickup truck on Route 220 in Waldo County, state police said.

Cassandra Locke, 19, of Knox, the driver of the 1992 silver Saturn, died in the crash, according to Maine State Police Trooper Steve Hills.

There were two passengers in her car. A 16-year-old from Liberty was taken by LifeFlight helicopter to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, and a 15-year-old, also from Liberty, was taken by ambulance to EMMC as well. The 15-year-old was ejected from the vehicle.

Hills declined to identify the injured girls because they are minors.

Hills said the accident occurred at 1:43 p.m. near Bean’s Corner.

The driver of the 2004 GMC truck, John Studley, 63, and his wife, Grace Studley, 66, summer residents of Nobleboro, were injured and taken by ambulance to Waldo County General Hospital in Belfast. Hills said a dog with the Studleys was unharmed.

The Studleys were wearing seat belts and their truck’s air bags deployed, according to Hills. He said that from what he could see at the scene, the three girls had not been wearing seat belts.

Hills said John Studley reported the Saturn had pulled out to pass a black pickup truck and attempted to pull in front of it but lost control.

Other witnesses reported that the Saturn carrying the three teens had been driving at excessive speeds, swerving erratically and making dangerous passes, according to Hills. The witnesses said the driver apparently lost control on a curve and skidded into a ditch. The car corrected itself, got back onto the road, and then crashed head-on into the oncoming pickup.

Hills said EMMC declined to provide him with the condition of the injured teenagers.

The accident remained under investigation Wednesday night.