2-vehicle collision shuts down Route 1A traffic in Ellsworth

ELLSWORTH – A car drifted across the centerline of Route 1A on Thursday and collided with a truck hauling half of a modular home, shutting down a portion of the city’s busiest road.

The driver of the 2005 Ford Taurus, Joshua Gillespie, 23, of Guilford, was taken by LifeFlight helicopter to a Bangor hospital but did not suffer life-threatening injuries, police said.

The driver of the truck, George Force, 44, of Ringtown, Pa., was not injured.

According to Ellsworth police Officer Kelvin Mote, Gillespie was driving north on Route 1A just out of town when he crossed the yellow line. The truck, owned by Star Fleet Inc. of Middlebury, Ind., was heading south into Ellsworth and couldn’t swerve in time.

Both men were wearing seat belts, but Gillespie was trapped inside the vehicle. Ellsworth fire officials had to cut the roof off his car to extricate him.

“Looking at the wreck, it could have been a lot worse,” Mote said.

Gillespie suffered a broken leg along with cuts and abrasions, the officer said. He was in serious but stable condition Thursday evening at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

Mote said he wasn’t sure whether speed was a factor or what caused Gillespie to cross the centerline. The accident will be reconstructed.

A stretch of Route 1A between Christian Ridge Road and Red Bridge Road was closed most of Thursday afternoon, and traffic was rerouted down those roads.

“It sent people a little out of their way but it kept cars moving,” Mote said of the detour.