DRESDEN – A 21-year old Buxton woman died Thursday evening following a two-vehicle accident at an intersection with a reputation for collisions.

Lt. Rand Maker of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department said Mallory Morse, 21, was killed when her car went through a stop sign at routes 128 and 197 and was struck by a 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche driven by Bruce Arsenault, 63, of Richmond. He received minor injuries.

Arsenault was traveling west on Route 197 when the crash occurred. He was taken to Mid-Coast Hospital in Brunswick and later released.

Keisha Neilson, 21, of Pittston, a passenger in Morse’s 1994 Ford Tempo, was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland with head injuries.

A hospital spokesman on Friday said Neilson was listed in fair condition.

Maker said Morse and Nielson were traveling south on Route 128 when the accident occurred at approximately 5:30 p.m.

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“We actually have a lot of car crashes at that intersection,” Maker said Friday.

“I’m not sure why it happens at that section of Route 128 . . . Either people don’t notice or fail to stop at the stop sign. We’ve had some serious ones. I know we’ve had a fatal at that same intersection in the last couple of years.”

Maker said the Maine Department of Transportation monitors state road intersections and addresses problems if there is a high incidence of accidents.

Dresden Fire Chief Gerald Lilly said two similar accidents occurred at that intersection in the past three weeks.

“The intersection is quite dangerous,” Lilly said.

“A few years ago the state supposedly fixed it but it doesn’t seem to work.

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They cut the hill back and had done quite a lot of work on it. But something more certainly needs to be done now. I don’t know what.”

Lilly said he can’t understand why people run the stop sign where Route 128 intersects with Route 197.

He said motorists are traveling up to 50 miles an hour coming over the hill on Route 197.

The intersection is right at the bottom of the hill, he said.

“Hopefully, they’ll come up with a solution,” he said.

“I talked to the sheriff last night and he’s going to talk to (the Maine Department of Transportation).

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“And I’ve talked to selectmen and they’re going to contact (the department), too, to see what we can do.”

The Department of Transportation was unavailable for comment Friday as state offices were closed for a furlough day.

Although it appears that neither speed nor alcohol were factors in the accident, Maker said police are conducting toxicology tests.

Both drivers and passenger were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, he added.

 


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