Five people were killed in four accidents blamed mostly on freezing rain and light snow that swept across the state Friday and Saturday, police said.

An accident in Gardiner killed two men, and three other crashes — in Bowdoin, Edinburg and Cornville — each killed one person, police said.

As much as a quarter of an inch of ice built up in some areas, according to the National Weather Service in Gray. The icy conditions caused dozens of other accidents in Cumberland and York counties and around the state, and also caused several power outages, authorities said Saturday.

“Roads are icy, and as it cools off I’m sure we’re going to have more accidents,” Augusta Police Sgt. Richard Dubois said Saturday afternoon. “People need to drive with due regard.”

In Gardiner, two men died when their van crashed around 8 a.m. Saturday on ice-covered Brunswick Avenue leading to Interstate 295.

Dennis Kay of Gardiner and Carlton Norwood of Pittston were partially ejected when their cargo van skidded out of control and rolled over before landing on its side in a ditch, said Gardiner Police Chief James Toman.

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Kay, 62, and Norwood, 25, died at the scene, Toman said.

“It would appear they were not wearing their seat belts,” he said. “Had they been wearing their seat belts, they probably would still be alive.”

A third man, Thomas Bourque, 29, of Randolph, was taken by ambulance to MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta with injuries not believed to be life-threatening. Police have not determined who was driving.

“It appears due to icy road conditions and speed, the driver lost control and crossed the opposite lane into the ditch,” Toman said.

A 21-year-old man was killed around 11 p.m. Friday in Cornville when the 2010 Cheverolet pickup he was driving went off West Ridge Road, struck a utility pole and a small trailer parked in a private driveway, and flipped over.

The driver, Joseph T. Faucher-Kuhlman of Cornville, who was not wearing a seat belt, was pinned underneath the truck and pronounced dead at the scene, according to a news release issued by Somerset County Detective Lt. Carl Gottardi. There were no passengers.

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The exact cause of the accident is still under investigation.

Police dispatchers also confirmed that a man was killed Saturday afternoon when a vehicle hit a tree on Route 201 in Bowdoin. Andrew Klaiber of Topsham was pronounced dead at the scene, the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office said.

Klaiber, 45, was driving south when his 2005 Chevy Blazer went off the road, down an embankment and struck a tree, said Sheriff Joel Merry.

Witnessses following the vehicle saw Klaiber driving erratically just before leaving the road, Merry said. The crash doesn’t appear to have been caused by ice or by excessive speed or alcohol, he said. The accident is under investigation.

A 60-year-old woman died in a one-car crash on Interstate 95 north of Old Town on Saturday. The woman was a passenger in a car that crashed in Edinburg, said Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine State Police.

McCausland said the driver may have lost control as the car was passing another vehicle. The crash was still under investigation at 8 p.m. Saturday.

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Police Saturday responded to numerous other, less serious crashes around southern Maine.

The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office reported 15 to 20 cars off the road, and Portland police reported 10 accidents that damaged vehicles within 40 minutes, said Portland Officer Mark Keller. Westbrook police reported eight to 10 accidents.

About 25 cars slid off the road in York County, according to the regional dispatch office.

A truck rolled over in icy conditions near Route 9 and Middle Road in Falmouth on Saturday, spilling about 70 gallons of fuel.

The driver was not injured, and traffic was not delayed, police said.

A Saturday evening rollover in Lebanon left two teenagers in Goodall Hospital in Sanford with apparently non-life threatening injuries, said Lebanon Assistant Chief Jason Cole.

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Their 2009 Hyundai Accent rolled about five times and landed on top of a rock, Cole said.

The driver was a 17-year-old North Berwick girl, and her passenger was a 16-year-old girl from Lebanon, he said.

Today’s weather is expected to be partly sunny and 10 degrees warmer statewide, with showers arriving tonight, according to the National Weather Service.

The temperatures are expected to plummet by Monday night, but there is still no snow forecast anytime soon, said Mike Ekster, lead forecaster with the Weather Service in Gray.

“An Arctic front Monday night will come down from Canada, bringing probably the coldest air of the season Monday through Wednesday,” he said.

“By Thursday the cold air will move out, but it will be back in the mid-20s. That’s normal for this time of year. What’s kind of out of the ordinary is no snow anywhere,” Ekster said.

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— Maine Sunday Telegram Staff Writer Beth Quimby contributed to this report.

Staff Writer Deirdre Fleming can be contacted at 791-6452 or at:

dfleming@mainetoday.com

Morning Sentinel Staff Writer Ben McCanna can be contacted at 861-9239 or at:

bmccanna@mainetoday.com

Kennebec Journal Staff Writer Craig Crosby can be contacted at 621-5642 or at:

ccrosby@mainetoday.com

 


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