York Town News
Accident victim succumbs to injuries
One day later, second Route 1 crash knocks out power
By Jennifer L. Saunders
A Sept. 7 crash on Route 1 knocked out power to an estimated 6,000 homes and businesses in town, but no one was injured. Pictured here is a vehicle driven by Christopher Stobe of Cape Neddick after it crashed into a Central Maine Power pole near the intersection of Route 1 and Old Post Road.
Photo courtesy of Ben Morong
YORK - A Gilmanton, N.H., resident has succumbed to her injuries following an Aug. 30 two-vehicle crash near the Lobster Barn on Route 1.
Barbara Ingals, 79, was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland following the crash. On Sept. 6, Ingals died as a result of those injuries.
According to York Ptl. John P. Lizanecz, Ingals was a passenger in a Toyota Echo driven by Linda Butler of Rutherfordton, N.C., which was in collision on Route 1 with a second vehicle driven by Carl Hearrin of Moody.
Lizanecz noted that Butler remains hospitalized as a result of the crash while Hearrin was treated and released.
The preliminary investigation indicated that Butler's Toyota Echo was headed north on Route 1, turning left into the Lobster Barn's parking lot. The car turned into the path of Hearrin's southbound vehicle, causing the collision.
York Ptl. Owen Davis conducted a reconstruction of the scene at the time of the crash, Lizanecz said, and the investigation is ongoing.
Then, last Thursday, Sept. 7, the same day that police confirmed Ingals had died as a result of the Aug 30 accident, a second crash occurred on Route 1. This time; however, only one car was involved and there were no injuries.
Christopher J. Stobe, 32, of Route 1 in Cape Neddick, was driving a 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee southbound on Route 1, according to police reports. Stobe's vehicle struck a utility pole at the intersection of Route 1 and Old Post Road, splitting the pole and knocking out power to an estimated 6,000 homes and businesses across town.
"The top half of the utility pole snapped in half, creating a major power outage for the areas of York Village and York Beach," Sgt. Thomas Baran said after the crash. "The power in some areas was out three hours."
Police reduced the four lanes of traffic in that area of Route 1 to two, using cones and multiple officers to redirect traffic as Central Maine Power employees worked into the night to repair the pole and wires.
"This was a very dangerous situation that involved a major pole," York Police Chief Douglas Bracy said Monday, crediting the work of CMP to get the power restored with employees on scene until 4:30 a.m.
The outage at first impacted the town's four public schools, the York Police Department, other town offices and even some of the York Sewer Department's pump stations, he noted. The crash shut down the new CMP line to the York Beach substation, Bracy said, but the new Bragdon Commons substation restored power to about one-third of the town almost immediately.
"Within an hour and a half our two hours, they had isolated the outage it to just that small section," Bracy said of the area immediately surrounding the crash. "All the way around, Central Maine Power did a bang-up job, considering the magnitude of the job."
Police remained on scene and the York Fire Department used one of its trucks, equipped with a telescoping light pole, to illuminate the area as work continued through the night with CMP teams from Portland, Augusta and Alfred.
Stobe's vehicle sustained an estimated $6,500 in damage.
Police are seeking information as the case is still under investigation. Anyone who witnessed the Sept. 7 crash is asked to call Ptl. Steven Spofford at 363-4444.
Bracy acknowledged a rash of accidents in town in recent weeks, including last month's dramatic collision that sent a BMW plummeting from the interstate onto the banks of the York River, landing on a passenger who had been ejected from a Ford Mustang that was also involved in the crash.
Miraculously, the individuals involved in that high-speed accident all survived.
