Route 1 between Biddeford and Arundel was closed for nearly seven hours Monday after a sport utility vehicle went off the road in Arundel and hit a utility pole, snapping it in half and sending electrical wires across the heavily traveled road.
Chief Deputy William L. King Jr. of the York County Sheriff’s Office said a 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer driven by Shirley Sargent, 67, of Kennebunk hit the pole around 9:30 a.m. The broken pole caused wires to fall across the road, as well as on top of Sargent’s vehicle.
Sargent, who complained of hip pain, was taken by ambulance to Southern Maine Medical Center in Biddeford.
The falling wires also damaged a 2008 Ford Focus driven by Shirley Danforth, 56, of Kennebunk. She was not injured.
The accident knocked out power to a number of area residences, according to King. Route 1, which is also known as Portland Road in Arundel, reopened around 4:15 p.m.
King said two separate accidents occurred Monday afternoon in the vicinity of the SUV crash. King attributed those crashes to people rubbernecking – the road was barricaded – and not paying attention.
In one accident, Jesse Hernandez, 25, of Biddeford, was arrested after Deputy Duane Fay discovered he was being sought by Oklahoma police on three outstanding warrants, including one for burglary.
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