Wrong-Way Driver Causes Serious Accidents In Aroostook County
Police say a man driving in the wrong direction for several miles on Route 1 in Aroostook County Saturday morning caused a pair of accidents that sent three people to the hospital.
Lt. Jamie Pelletier of the Madawaska Police Department said Douglas Hise, 49, of Caribou, was driving an SUV northbound near the Grand Isle/Madawaska line when he veered into and the southbound lane and continued driving on the wrong side of the road for several miles, according to the Fiddlehead Focus.
Hise's SUV struck the rear driver’s side of a vehicle operated by Katrina Hazleton, 38, of Van Buren, Pelletier said.
Hazleton's vehicle spun around and struck a snowbank. She was taken to Cary Medical Center in Caribou with back pain.
Approximately three miles later, Hise struck a vehicle driven by Wilson Beaulieu, 73, of Madawaska, nearly head-on, police said.
Both vehicles were badly damaged, and the two men were transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The accidents are still under investigation, and police have yet to determine what caused Hise to veer into oncoming traffic.
Police said he did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.