Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — A Griffin Street residence sustained extensive damage Tuesday afternoon when a driver, identified as Charles Cormier of Fort Fairfield, lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the home.
UNWELCOME HOUSE GUEST — It’s not every day one finds a car in the living room of a house. A Fort Fairfield motorist identified as Charles Cormier suffered a medical issue Tuesday afternoon that caused him to lose control of his 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee as he traveled south on Griffin Street in Presque Isle. Cormier left the road, traveled through the Presque Isle High School parking lot across the street from the school, knocked down a fence, before running into a garage and subsequently stopping in the living area of the home. Cormier was transported to TAMC for observation. Pictured viewing the scene is Kyle Bartley of the PIFD.
Witnesses indicated Cormier had been operating erratically prior to the accident, which occurred around 2 p.m.
“I was coming up the street from North Street when I saw a vehicle swerve toward a tree on Zippel’s lawn. At first I thought it was kids playing around. It then crossed the street and nearly hit an elderly woman walking. The vehicle swerved through the parking lot. I thought at first it had gone down toward the bike path,” said Aaron Buckley, who witnessed the incident.
Buckley said he turned around to see what happened.
“I went back to see if there was anything I could do. I saw the vehicle had struck the building. As I was calling 9-1-1, I saw the driver walking away from the building,” said Buckley. “He told me he’d passed out.”
Ralph Fantasia also witnessed the accident.
“I was about four cars behind the vehicle before it hit the house. I saw him swerve on the Zippel lawn, then cut across into the parking lot. He struck the fence and kept going, hitting the house and coming to a stop inside,” said Fantasia.
Fantasia said it was fortunate not only that school was out for the summer but that summer classes weren’t in session.
“If it had been just an hour or two earlier, summer classes would have still been in session and students’ cars would have been in the lot. Luckily there were no students or vehicles in his way,” said Fantasia.
CRASH LANDING — A Presque Isle firefighter looks at the damage caused to a home on Griffin Street when a Jeep driven by Charles Cormier of Fort Fairfield crashed into the building Tuesday afternoon. No serious injuries were reported and no one was home at the time of the accident. Witnesses indicated the driver was spotted operating erratically prior to hitting the building.
Sgt. Mark Barnes responded to investigate, assisted by Officer Larry Fickett, of the Presque Isle Police Department. A crew and truck from the Presque Isle Fire Department, along with Fire Chief Darrell White, also responded.
Barnes said he spoke with Cormier, with the driver reportedly telling him he’d “blacked out.”
“At this time we’re determining the cause of the accident to be a medical issue. Cormier said he does not recall what happened leading up to the crash,” said Barnes.
Cormier was traveling south when he lost control of his 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee, crashing into the garage and traveling through the structure before coming to rest between the living room and bedroom of the home, owned by Julia Martin. No one was home at the time of the accident.
When officials arrived, the Jeep was found in the home, coated with paint from supplies that had been stored in newly-built garage. Furniture was tossed about, with interior walls collapsing on the vehicle. Officials were looking for someone to shore up the walls to prevent further collapse.
An unidentified elderly lady who was walking by at the time and witnessed the accident was quite shaken, according to Barnes, and was checked out by EMTs at the scene. Cormier was transported by Crown Ambulance to The Aroostook Medical Center for further evaluation. His condition was not known at presstime.
The Jeep was heavily damaged in the accident. Mike Cowett’s Towing Service was contacted and responded to remove the SUV from the building. Two wreckers were needed to jockey the vehicle into position for extrication, in order to avoid additional damage to the structure.
The home, located directly across the street from the Presque Isle High School — which is currently for sale for the asking price of $125,000 — sustained extensive structural damage, estimated to be in the thousands. The school fence along the parking lot was also destroyed.
Maine Public Service responded to turn off the power to the house.
