A 28-year-old Portland woman who was seriously injured Friday night in the town of Oxford when her sport utility vehicle was struck by a pickup truck whose driver was fleeing from police remained hospitalized Sunday night at Maine Medical Center.
A spokesperson for the Portland hospital said Nicole Kumiega was in critical condition. Kumiega was operating a Ford Escape on Oxford Street around 5:15 p.m. when a Ford F-150 pickup truck collided with her SUV, causing it to hit trees.
Kumiega was taken to Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway before being transported by Lifeflight helicopter to Maine Medical Center. A passenger in the Ford Escape was also transported to Stephens Memorial Hospital, treated and released. The pickup truck caught fire and its operator, 26-year-old Ethan Rioux-Poulios of Woodstock, fled the scene, police said.
He stole another vehicle and led police on a second chase through Otisfield, Norway and Oxford, where spike mats were used to disable his vehicle. Rioux-Poulios resisted arrest, authorities said.
At the time of Friday’s incident, Rioux-Poulios was on state probation for a 2019 manslaughter conviction for crashing into a vehicle on Route 26 in West Paris and killing the driver while fleeing from an Oxford County deputy. At the time of the 2019 incident, Rioux-Poulios fled from that crash and was later located at a residence in South Paris.
Rioux-Poulios is facing multiple charges including driving to endanger, reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, and refusing to submit to arrest.
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