A Gardiner man has died from injuries suffered over the weekend when his motorcycle crashed into another being driven by his wife.

Kenneth Black, 50, died early Monday afternoon at Central Maine Medical Center, Lt. Rand Maker, of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, said in a news release. Black had been hospitalized since Sunday evening when he and his wife crashed their motorcycles on Mills Road in Whitefield.

Black was flown to the Lewiston hospital with what appeared to be a serious head injury, Maker said.

Black’s wife, 47-year-old Laurie Black, had head and knee pain but declined to take an ambulance to the hospital, Maker said.

The crash occurred just before 7:30 p.m. Sunday as the Blacks drove separate motorcycles south on Mills Road in Whitefield. The couple both slowed to avoid a deer in the road that apparently had been hit by another vehicle, Maker said. The injured animal moved into the couple’s path as they tried to drive around it. Maker said Laurie Black managed to avoid the deer, but Kenneth Black lost control of his motorcycle, hitting the deer and his wife’s motorcycle.

Neither of the Blacks was wearing a helmet, Maker said.

Laurie Black’s blood will be tested for drugs and alcohol because of the seriousness of Kenneth Black’s injuries, Maker said, but such substances are not believed to have been a factor contributing to the crash. Deputies continue to investigate.

“At this time criminal charges appear unlikely, but the Wiscasset district attorney’s office will have the final review of this investigation once it’s complete,” Maker said.

Mills Road was closed for about two hours while medics tended to the Blacks and police investigated.


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