PITTSFIELD – Police in Pittsfield and Newport were called to two accidents within minutes of each other Friday afternoon that sent two men to hospitals.

In the first crash, a motorcyclist riding west on Route 2 in Pittsfield attempted to pass two cars when the first car turned left in front of him, into her own driveway.

Noah Daigle, 22, of St. John in Aroostook County slammed into the driver’s door of a Subaru station wagon driven by Elaine Sanders, 68, of Pittsfield, according to Pittsfield police Officer Marty Cochran.

Daigle suffered multiple broken bones and other injuries. He was taken by ambulance to Sebasticook Valley Hospital and then by LifeFlight helicopter to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

Cochran said Sanders suffered minor injuries.

Just a few minutes later, Newport police and rescue units were called to the intersection of High and North streets where two vehicles had collided, trapping one driver inside.

Mark Blair, 40, of Pittsfield, who was driving a 1999 Chrysler east on North Street, was struck in the driver’s-side door by a 2000 Ford pickup truck and trailer driven by Mark Arnold, 45, of Newport, who was headed north on High Street.

Lt. Randy Wing of the Newport Police Department said it appears that Blair failed to stop for a stop sign.

Blair was briefly trapped in the car before Fire Department personnel freed him. He lost consciousness after the crash and was taken to Sebasticook Valley Hospital in Pittsfield for evaluation. Wing said Blair’s injuries were not life-threatening.

Both drivers were wearing seat belts, Wing said, and the crash remains under investigation.

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