HAMPDEN – A Kenduskeag woman was taken to the hospital Sunday afternoon after her parked van, which was sitting in the Nealley’s Corner Store parking lot, was struck by a truck traveling on Route 69.

Janice Bodwell, 60, was sitting in the passenger side of the van while eating, when a truck driven by Gary Chambers, 67, of Dexter, slammed into the side of the parked vehicle, according to Sgt. Dan Stewart of Hampden Public Safety. Chambers, who was driving north on Route 69, was not familiar with the road and, distracted by a conversation with his wife in the passenger seat, neglected to halt at the stop sign and flashing red light, Stewart said.

Before Chambers’ Chevrolet truck hit the van, it collided with a silver Hyundai Santa Fe traveling east on the Kennebec Road. The Santa Fe, driven by Christina Cassano-Pelletier, 36, and carrying a 5-year-old passenger, spun around and came to a rest near the middle of the intersection, but the truck continued on, striking the parked van.

The store is on the corner of Route 69 and Kennebec Road. The van was parked in a lot along Route 69.

“I heard the collision over there, and I grabbed my wife and pulled her toward me,” said Larry Bodwell. “She was real lucky because she had just finished her sandwich and was about ready to get out and have a cigarette.

Janice Bodwell was taken to the hospital for neck and back pain, Stewart said. She was taken to St. Joseph Hospital in Bangor, but was home by Sunday night, Larry Bodwell said.

The other five people involved, drivers and passengers, were checked by emergency medical personnel but none was taken to the hospital, Stewart said.

Chambers was charged with failing to obey a flashing red light.

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