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The Lebanon Rescue Department, Lebanon Fire Department and Maine State Police responded to a motor vehicle accident with serious injury on Friday afternoon, April 2, 2010. The accident was reported by Lebanon Rescue member Rick Elliott who heard the crash and came out to check on the patients. The accident was reported at 1:03 p.m. and was located at the corner of Carl Broggi Highway and Lower Barley Road in South Lebanon, near the Lebanon Rescue Station.

It was reported by witnesses on scene that a 2009 Hyundai Elantra that was coming off of Blaisdell Corner Road did not see a 2004 Shadow Spirit motorcycle that was traveling west on Carl Broggi Highway and they collided. It was initially reported that the motorcycle operator was lying in the ditch not moving and barely conscious. An additional paramedic from Frisbie Hospital was started to assist Lebanon paramedics on scene. The driver of the motorcycle, a female patient, was taken to Frisbie Memorial Hospital. The operator was a 57 year old female from Waterboro, Maine. Her injuries are considered serious but not life threatening at this time. She was transported by Lebanon Ambulance at the advanced life support level. It does not appear she was wearing a helmet at the time of the collision.

The driver of the Hyundai Elentra was a 17 year-old female from Lebanon. She had a 17-year old male passenger, also from Lebanon. Both were evaluated but were not transported. Both were wearing their seatbelts and airbags did deploy.

Both vehicles suffered heavy damage and was towed from the scene.

While working on the patient from the motorcycle, a tractor trailer truck while trying to get around the scene went off the road and became stuck in the ditch next. Carl Broggi Highway was closed and traffic was re-routed down side roads. Carl Broggi Highway was closed from West Lebanon Road to the 2nd entrance to Blaisdell Corner Road until 2:30pm, when the tractor trailer truck was removed from the ditch.

At 2:25pm, a second tractor trailer that was traveling down the detour on Blaisdell Corner Road got caught up in low hanging wires and pulled down the power, telephone and cable wires and live power lines rested on the side of the road. As a result, the Blaisdell Corner Road was closed and traffic on Route 202 was stopped for about 15 minutes, backing up over 5 miles from the scene and about 2 miles into Rochester, NH. Central Maine Power responded to the scene and at 3:00pm Blaisdell Corner Road was re-opened.

According to a report in May 2009 for the Maine Health Information Center (located on-line at http://www.maine.gov/dps/bhs/crash-data/documents/Motorcycle_Crash_Study_5-11-2009.pdf , there were 2,340 motorcycle operators and 288 passengers involved in motor cycle accidents in Maine between 2003-2006. Of those, 1103 (47%) were single vehicle and 1,237 (53%) were collisions with another vehicle. Of the accidents involving other vehicles, 41% took place at intersections and 21% at driveways intersecting a roadway. York County experienced the second highest amount of accidents during this time frame, with 165 single vehicle crashes (15% of total) and 242 collision with another vehicle (20%).

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motorcyclists accounted for 11 percent of total traffic fatalities. Per vehicle mile traveled, motorcyclists were about 37 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a traffic accident.

With the nice weather the motorcycles are back out on the roadway and we urge drivers to be extra careful when coming onto roadways to look twice to ensure the road is clear. Motorcycles are everywhere and this is a reminder to look twice, it could save a life. I am aware of two fatal motorcycle accidents on Carl Broggi Highway in Lebanon within the past few years.