Two mourned in turnpike crash

Families and friends in neighboring communities are mourning the deaths of a volunteer driver and his 5 year-old passenger in a crash on the Maine Turnpike in Kennebunk Friday afternoon.

Police say the car in which Earl Gray, 57, of Waterboro, was the driver and Wyatt Frost, 5, of Lyman, was a passenger in was hit from behind by a box truck, which then landed on top of the vehicle.

Gray was a volunteer driver with York County Community Action and had driven the boy to the Morrison Center in Wells for the past couple of years.

The son of Aaron and Jena Shaw Frost, Wyatt loved to read, sing, and chase his friends, play “horsey” with his dad and cuddle with his mother, according to his obituary.

Gray was a more than just a longtime volunteer with the community action agency according to some who knew him.

“Earl wasn’t just a driver, he cared about the clients he drove,” one woman wrote on a GoFund Me Page set up to help the family with funeral expenses.

“Earl was a wonderful man with a ready smile, kind heart,” another wrote. “He was a very dependable driver and brought out the best in those who’s lives he has touched.”

York County Community Action Corporation director Barbara Crider said Earl Gray had been a volunteer driver with the agency for a decade.

“He was held in extremely high regard by our staff and his fellow volunteers,” she said this morning. “He was gentle and affable. “

Crider said Gray transported children and adults, many of them with disabilities, and seniors

“He had a wonderful bond with them, escpecially with those who rode with his for a period of time, “she said.

Crider said Gray has been driving Wyatt Frost for a couple of years.

“I know they had a really nice bond and a trusting relationship and our hearts are broken,” said Crider. “Our hearts go out to the families.”

To donate to the funeral expenses for either of the victims, visit the websites gofundme.com/wyatt-frost-funeral-fund and/or gofundme.com/funeral-expenses-for-earl-gray.

Police said the driver of the box truck that struck Gray’s car was 56-year-old John Kamau of Lowell, Massachusetts. Kamau was delivering mail from New Hampshire to Portland.

The crash took place as traffic was slowing down because of an unrelated second crash at mile 24 in the southbound lane where an erratic driver struck guardrails and was thrown out of the car onto the pavement, said Maine Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland. The impact also drove Gray’s car into the rear of a tractor trailer ahead of it.

Both Kamau and the driver of the tractor trailer truck drivers were slightly injured, but did not require hospitalization, said McCausland.

When completed the crash report will be forwarded to the York County District Attorney’s Office for review, troopers said.

Visiting hours for Wyatt Frost are 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Tuesday at Bibber Memorial Chapel in Kennebunk, where a celebration of his life will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

A celebration of Earl Gray’s life has been scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday in the fellowship hall of South Waterboro Bible Chapel.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].

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