A Rome man injured Tuesday after his truck went off the road, hit a tree and caught fire could have suffered more severe injuries were it not for some quick action by a Maine State Police trooper, officials said.
Eric Bachand, 21, was found pinned inside his pickup truck by state police Cpl. Diane Vance around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday after it crashed down a steep embankment off Route 135 in Belgrade.
The truck, according to a statement from police, had heavy smoke coming from it, and appeared to be on fire.
Vance, who had been pursuing the truck because it drove by her with no license plates, used a fire extinguisher to douse the fire, and called for fire and rescue.
Bachand was removed from the vehicle later by firefighters, who strapped him to a gurney and pulled him up the steep embankment. He was taken to MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta with neck injuries, according to Lt. Mark Brooks of Maine State Police.
“He could have sustained many more injuries, or even died, if not for the quick thinking by Cpl. Vance,” Brooks said Wednesday.
Vance was parked in a state police cruiser about 3:25 p.m. at Christy’s Store on Route 27, talking with a citizen, when she saw a black truck with no license plates traveling north. She pulled onto Route 27 and the driver of the truck accelerated quickly, heading west on Route 135 at a high rate of speed, police said.
Police said it appeared Bachand saw the police cruiser and accelerated quickly.
Brooks said Bachand “sped up at a speed not consistent with what most people would do when a police cruiser was behind them,” and reached speeds “well over” the posted 40 mph limit there.
Vance lost sight of the vehicle, according to a statement from state police, as it rounded a corner. However, she then saw the truck had gone off the road and crashed down an embankment.
Police said Bachand had a revoked driver’s license.
No charges were filed as of early Wednesday afternoon, but Brooks said charges are pending. Calls seeking an update on Bachand’s condition were not immediately returned Wednesday.
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