Mars Hill man fails to slow down for traffic, rear ends vehicle

6 years ago

A Mars Hill man was injured Friday morning when he failed to slow down for traffic traveling behind a plow truck on Route 1 in Westfield and drove into the rear end of the vehicle in front of him, according to Maine State Police.

A long line of slow moving vehicles was following the plow truck that was heading north while treating the roadway at about 8 a.m., according to a release issued Friday evening by state police Lt. Brian Harris.

Not realizing that the traffic had slowed, Chris Coffin, 37, of Mars Hill caught up to the vehicles in his 1994 Chevrolet pickup and ran into the rear end of a 2008 Toyota van, Harris reported.

Coffin suffered minor injuries and was transported via Crown ambulance to an unspecified hospital to be treated, according to Harris.

The driver of the van, Ramon Putnam, 64, of Cary Plantation was not injured.

Both vehicles sustained significant damage in the crash and are considered a total loss.

Traffic on Route 1 was reduced to one lane for about an hour and a half while the crash was investigated and the roadway was cleared.

The lead investigator, Trooper Andrew Levesque, was assisted at the scene by Trooper Todd Stetson and members of Crown Ambulance and the Maine Department of Transportation.