MONMOUTH – A man and woman suffered serious injuries Sunday in a two-car crash that left one vehicle pinned against a Route 126 store, police said.

The elderly pair — whose identities weren’t released — were taken by ambulance to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston for treatment.

Police said a Nissan Xterra sport utility vehicle traveling west on Route 126 from Litchfield struck the elderly pair’s Chevrolet Cobalt sedan as it crossed Route 126 on South Monmouth Road around 10 a.m.

Monmouth Police Chief Kevin Conger said the impact of the collision pushed the Cobalt off the road and against the side of the South Monmouth Market.

The driver of the Xterra — whom police didn’t identify Sunday — wasn’t injured, Conger said.

Maine State Police and Winthrop police spent much of the day at the accident scene working to reconstruct the crash and perform forensic mapping, in which police use electronic surveying equipment to assess crash evidence. Conger said it was too early to determine the accident’s cause.

Damage to the side of the South Monmouth Market wasn’t extensive, employee Donna Towle said. The impact of the crash only knocked a few bottles from the shelves, she said. The market stayed open throughout the day.

The damage could have been much worse had the accident happened a week earlier, Towle said.

Store employees this past week moved several propane tanks that were sitting outside at the spot where the Xterra pushed the sedan against the building.

“Thank God it was this week and not last week,” she said. “(The propane tanks) got moved just in the nick of time.”

Towle said she was at the cash register when the collision happened, and immediately called 911.

“We’ve had a few accidents at that corner in the 10 years I’ve been there,” she said.

“I don’t even wait anymore to see if anyone’s been hurt. I just call.”

 

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