The Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office did not provide any additional details Sunday about the single-vehicle crash that killed a Wayne teenager Friday night.
Ethan Russell, 19, was a passenger in a pickup truck that went off the road around 10:15 p.m. Friday in Mount Vernon. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
In a press release Saturday, the sheriff’s office said the other passenger in the vehicle, Richard Hall Jr., 21, of Mount Vernon, was airlifted to Central Maine Medical Center with serious injuries. His condition is unknown.
The vehicle, driven by Tyler Goucher, 21, of Mount Vernon, left the road at the intersection of North and Church roads and crashed, police said. The cause of the accident is still under investigation, but the sheriff’s office said speed and alcohol may have been factors in the crash.
The sheriff’s office release also said it appeared none of the occupants of the vehicle were wearing seatbelts. The vehicle has been impounded and deputies were awaiting a search warrant for the pickup truck.
Hundreds of people have posted comments on the Facebook pages of Russell’s parents, Nathan and Shanna, and his sister, Delaney. People from Maine and elsewhere across the country have offered the family condolences, thoughts and prayers and comfort.
Ethan’s father, Nathan, has posted several photos of his son on his Facebook page in the last 24 hours. There are pictures of Ethan Russell holding a large fish, leaning against a waterfront tree and standing in front of a truck.
In public Facebook posts — one on Saturday and one on Sunday — Nathan Russell said his new spot to sit in the family’s home is at the dining room windows. He said he’s in shock and disbelief and wants to see his son’s “beat up car brappin’ up the road.”
He said wants “to see you duck through the doorway and track your muddy boots through the house, then realize you have mud or something on them and go back to the front door to take them off. Now I hear the dogs’ tails wagging, smashing into the cabinets as they surround you. You loved to get them riled up. You’d walk by with a quick “hey” before grabbing your towel for a shower. I just want to hold you so bad.”
In Saturday morning’s post, Nathan Russell said his son — a 2016 graduate of Maranacook Community High School — was always upbeat, smiling and laughing and had a beautiful heart. He said Ethan probably didn’t realize how proud his father was when he walked passed, and he also said he’d miss his son’s quick wit and sense of humor.
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