SACO

Saco man is ejected, killed when car crashes into tree

A 19-year-old Saco man was killed Sunday in a single-car crash on Flag Pond Road in Saco.

Jacob Marcotte of 24 Clayton Drive was killed instantly when he was ejected from his 1995 Plymouth four-door sedan at 3:55 a.m., said Saco Police Sgt. Bruce Cote.

Cote said Marcotte was driving alone, headed north on Jenkins Road, when he failed to stop where the road ends at Flag Pond Road and the car crashed into a tree.

Cote said it is not clear whether Marcotte was wearing a seat belt or where he was headed. The vehicle was destroyed.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Marcotte was a 2011 graduate of Thornton Academy.

“It was a really bad accident that killed a young man,” Cote said.

BANGOR

Police find vehicle, driver linked to fatal hit-and-run

Police said Sunday that they have found the vehicle involved in a hit-and-run accident that killed a pedestrian over the weekend.

Police said the man died shortly after 10:30 p.m. Saturday when he was struck by a car near the intersection of Patten and Main streets. The victim’s identity has not been released.

Witnesses reported the driver of a sedan hit the man on Main Street and sped off without stopping.

Police located the vehicle Sunday and were examining it. They said the driver has been identified and has been cooperative.

Investigators said charges are possible, but that no more information would be released until today.

KENNEBUNK

Fire causes heavy damage to home, kills woman’s dog

A woman lost her dog Sunday in a fire that caused heavy flame and smoke damage to her home at 250 Cat Mousam Road.

Kennebunk Fire Chief Stephen Nichols said Sharon Robinson had returned home from work around 5 p.m. and let her black Labrador Retriever outside for a short time before bringing the dog back in the house.

After she left to visit friends down the street, a fire erupted in the kitchen, generating an enormous amount of smoke and sending extreme heat throughout the two-story home.

“The heat and smoke worked its way through the house, causing heavy damage” and killing the dog, Nichols said.

Firefighters had the fire under control within 30 minutes. The cause remains under investigation.
Robinson is staying with relatives until her home, which is insured, can be repaired, the chief said.

BIDDEFORD

Residents flee to safety as fire burns attached garage

Fire caused heavy damage Sunday to an attic storage area above a garage, but firefighters were able to prevent the blaze from spreading to an attached three-family residence.

The fire broke out just after 4 p.m. at 118 Prospect St., a former single-family home that had been converted to three apartments.

Capt. Jason Wheeler said a mobile lunch van, which was stored in the garage, suffered some minor damage to the body.

Wheeler said several people were in the home at the time, but all got out safely. The living units suffered some smoke and structural damage.

Firefighters had the fire under control within 30 minutes.

The cause remains under investigation.

AUGUSTA

U.S. House to vote on bill to fund study of York River

The U.S. House is expected to vote this week on a bill that could lead to a special designation for southern Maine’s York River.

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree said her bill calls for a multi-year study and gathering of public input to determine if the river is eligible for designation as a Partnership Wild and Scenic River by the National Park Service.

Pingree, a Maine Democrat, says that designation could bring significant federal investment in protecting the river for activities such as preserving and restoring fish and wildlife habitat.

Pingree said the river has great economic and environmental value to York, Eliot, Kittery, South Berwick and the surrounding communities. The river is used by commercial fishermen and recreationists.

– From staff and news services