Three young people were killed on impact early Thursday morning when their small pickup truck went off the road and collided with a tree in Sebago.

Joshua Plummer, age 23 of Naples, Matthew Waugh, 21 of Westbrook, and Tamera Hearn, 18 of Lafayette, Oregon were being pursued by Cumberland County Sheriff Deputy Raymond McIntire when Plummer lost control of his 1980s model Chevy S-10 and collided with a roadside tree while driving east on Route 114 in Sebago.

The victims had spent Wednesday evening visiting several parties in the Lakes Region. They first went to a party off Raymond Cape Road in Raymond and after neighbors complained of noise, the group went to another party off Kimball Corner Road in Sebago. They were on their way back from purchasing two 12-packs of beer at the Big Apple in Naples when Deputy McIntire observed them running a stoplight at the corner of State Park Road and Route 114 in Naples.

Due to the high speeds the truck was traveling, the deputy followed the truck for three miles before activating his blue lights at the intersection of Burnell Road and Route 114. The truck then attempted to elude the deputy with speeds approaching 82 miles per hour. The deputy lost sight of the vehicle and came upon the accident scene moments after Plummer, who was driving with a suspended license, failed to negotiate a curve and collided with a large tree. The cab of the small truck was completely collapsed.

“When Deputy McIntire reached the area of Route 114 known as Long Beach, he observed a cloud of dust and observed the pickup truck in question had struck a tree head on,” Chief Deputy Kevin Joyce said at a Thursday afternoon press conference.

It is unclear whether drugs or alcohol played a part in the crash. Alcohol containers and drug paraphernalia were found in the vehicle.

The accident has shocked Sebago residents who heard about the tragedy early Thursday morning.

“I got a call from an employee who said the road was closed and that I should look for an alternate route to work,” said Jeff Cutting of Jordan’s Store in Sebago. “This was very unfortunate. All my customers are coming in and saying how sad it is.”

Though Route 114 was closed for hours after the crash, Cutting was able to get to work and witnessed significant skid marks and a large chunk of missing tree bark on a 4-foot-in-diameter pine tree about 75 feet north of the Rustic Barrel Restaurant in Sebago.

The daughter of the owner of the restaurant, Brenda Harriman, was at home shortly after midnight when she felt the crash’s vibration shake the house.

“I thought it was an earthquake,” she said of the vehicle’s collision with a tree.

Harriman said Route 114 takes a right-hand curve right where the truck drove off the road.

“We live next door to the restaurant and the crash set off our car alarm,” Harriman said. “The driver ran right through the curve and into that tree.”

Harriman looked out the window and saw three or four police cruisers at the scene within minutes shining bright lights in the direction of the vehicle, after pursuing the vehicle from Naples.

Harriman said people had begun placing crosses and flowers at the site in memory of the three people killed.

This tree in Sebago was the site of a deadly car accident early Thursday morning which claimed the lives of three young people.

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