A Cumberland County sheriff’s deputy and another driver were injured Wednesday when their vehicles collided in Brunswick.
Seventy-one-year-old Penelope Ebberts and Deputy Todd McGee of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office were both sent to Maine Medical Center on July 24 after their vehicles collided on Harpswell Road in Brunswick. Brunswick police said the crash remains under investigation.
Police said Ebberts was driving south on Harpswell Road in a 2011 Subaru Forester and was several cars ahead of McGee, who had his emergency lights and siren activated while responding to a disturbance call in Harpswell. McGee was passing several vehicles in traffic when Ebberts began to make a left turn onto Bickford Avenue.
Police said that the turn happened in front of McGee and resulted in a collision. Ebberts’ car rolled to its driver’s side, and McGee’s cruiser, a 2022 Ford pickup, stopped in a nearby construction area.
Brunswick Police Chief Scott Stewart said that Ebberts’ car was flipped back onto its tires to get her out of the vehicle.
Ebberts suffered serious injuries that weren’t believed to be life-threatening, while McGee suffered minor injuries. Police said that both were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash. Both cars were totaled.
Stewart confirmed that no other vehicles were involved in the crash and said that Brunswick Police will lead the investigation.
The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday morning that McGee, who has been with the sheriff’s office for 14 years, has since been discharged after the accident and was on his regularly scheduled day off, though it could not provide an update on Ebberts. It did confirm that McGee, who often patrols Harpswell, is regularly in the Brunswick area.
“In emergency response, we drive with due regard for safety to the best we can,” Lt. Jim Estabrook said.
He said that per office policy, the department will compile completed reports and review the incident in a Crash Safety Review Board to determine if there are any policy issues that need to be addressed. A Crash Safety Review Board is held for any serious crash, he said, and determines if a crash was preventable, nonpreventable or negligent. There is currently no set time frame for this process as reports on the accident have not been completed.
“It’s an unfortunate event, and at the end of the day, vehicles are replaceable and people aren’t, so I’m glad everybody’s going to be okay,” Estabrook said.
In 2024, the sheriff’s office said it had 10 other vehicle incidents — most of which were minor. About half, Estabrook said, were incidents involving deer on the road. He noted one crash of a similar severity occurred in Windham on April 4 — when the spring nor’easter hit — when a vehicle lost control on the slippery road and side-swiped a police cruiser.
Maine law states that emergency vehicles have the right of way when responding to a call with lights and sirens on.
It also states that drivers of emergency vehicles can exceed speed limits with caution to life and property and disregard traffic rules that dictate direction of flow and turning. However, they must drive with due regard for safety — meaning with reasonable caution — and are not protected if they drive recklessly.
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