Franklin County

From the desk of Shannon Moss, DPS PIO

On Sunday, November 14, 2021, at 8:01 a.m. Franklin County Regional Communications Center received a 911 call reporting a single motor vehicle crash on Weld Rd. (Route 156) in Phillips. Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the crash as well as NorthStar Ambulance and local fire departments to render aid. Deputies requested the resources of the Maine State Police to respond due to the serious nature of the crash. A team of Troopers from Troop C responded and were notified that a 15-year-old male passenger from Dixfield was killed in the crash. A second passenger, 18-year-old Charlie Billings of Carthage, and the driver, 18-year-old Benjamin Carrol of Dixfield were both transported to Franklin Memorial Hospital with serious injuries.

Preliminary investigative information suggests that Carrol, who was driving a 2002 Nissan Maxima went off the right side of the roadway and struck several large trees. Speed is being considered as a contributing factor in this crash, however, it is still under investigation by the Maine State Police Crash Reconstruction Team.
 

Two people are dead and several others injured following a motor vehicle crash in Sandy River Plantation.

On February 1, 2021, at approximately 8:45 p.m., a gray 2017 Toyota Avalon, driven and occupied by Karl Crute, 79, and his wife Laraine Crute, 79, from Cushing, were traveling north on Rt 4 in Sandy River Plantation when a black 2009 Pontiac G6 was traveling south, driven and occupied by Kaylee Knight, 18, of Chesterville and four teenaged passengers. The two vehicles struck each other and as a result two of the passengers in the vehicle driven by Knight were killed: Thomas Deckard-Madore, 17, of Strong; and Michaela Morgan, 15, of Phillips. 

The Crutes, along with one other passenger of the Pontiac, remain hospitalized and are being treated for serious injuries. The Maine State Police continue to investigate the crash and causation factors. They were assisted by Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, Rangeley Police Department, Farmington Police Department, Somerset Sheriff’s Office, the Franklin County District Attorney’s Office, and other multiple fire and rescue agencies from the surrounding areas.

We are saddened by this tragic incident and our condolences are extended to the families of everyone involved.