WINSLOW – Two adults and three youths were injured today when the sport utility vehicle they were traveling in at a high rate of speed on Garland Road rolled over about three times, resting in a pasture, according to police.
Four people in the 2005 Chevrolet Equinox who were not wearing seat belts were ejected from the vehicle, landing 10 to 15 feet from it; the one passenger wearing a seat belt was not ejected, Officer Ron McGowen said.
All five were taken to Thayer Campus, MaineGeneral Medical Center, in Waterville by Delta Ambulance, according to McGowen, the investigating officer.
McGowen said a passerby at 3:37 p.m. called to report the accident occurred at 295 Garland Road. That location is about a mile from China Road.
McGowen said the Equinox was traveling south on Garland Road at a high rate of speed when the accident happened.
“They lost control going over a knoll or a hill, went sideways and rolled the vehicle over approximately three times before coming to rest,” McGowen said.
The Chevrolet landed on all four wheels in the pasture, about 100 feet from the east side of the road, according to McGowen. The vehicle was destroyed, he said.
The driver was a 16-year-old male, whom McGowen declined to name because he is a juvenile.
“He is a newly-licensed driver as well,” he said.
The front passenger was a female, 14; the only other juvenile in the vehicle was a boy, 16, who was sitting in the right rear passenger seat, according to McGowen. That boy was the only one wearing a seat belt and the only one who was not ejected from the vehicle, McGowen said.
Jacob York, 19, of Winslow, was sitting in the middle of the back seat before the crash; Tinecha Hallee, 20, of Winslow, was sitting in the rear seat, behind the driver, according to McGowen.
A hospital spokeswoman said Monday evening that York and Hallee were in stable – good – condition.
Information about the others’ conditions was unavailable, according to McGowen.
He said all of the injured were conscious when emergency workers arrived.
At the scene, traffic was backed up Garland Road as emergency workers helped the injured and got them into ambulances. Winslow and Waterville firefighters worked at the scene, as did Winslow police. Lt. Michael Tuminaro and Officer Josh Veilleux, who also is the school resource officer, assisted.
McGowen said it was unknown where the sport utility vehicle was coming from and where it was going before the crash.
No charges had been filed as of late afternoon. McGowen said the accident is under investigation.
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