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Three University of Maine students remain at Eastern Maine Medical Center today after a single car crash last Friday.
The Subaru Legacy, driven by Sean Malone, 20, veered into the median near the Stillwater exit in Orono on Interstate 95, clipped a few trees, and then came to rest on its side.
Malone and Joshua Mimmovich, also 20, are both listed in critical condition as of press time on Wednesday. Another passenger, Tessa Beaucage, 20, is listed in serious condition.
A spokesperson from EMMC said she did not expect the conditions of the three to change in the next 24 hours.
Scott Luciano was at the Orono Fire Department when the call came in at 3:45 p.m. Friday. Luciano, a firefighter and paramedic, responded along with what he estimated were about a dozen other units.
He described the scene of the accident when he arrived as “very serious.”
The trees taken out by the car were both about one foot in diameter, according to Luciano.
Two of the students, including Malone, were already lying on the bank outside the vehicle when Luciano responded to the scene. The other passenger was still trapped in the car and was extracted using the Jaws of Life. Only one of the victims was conscious at the time, though it is uncertain which one that was.
When he arrived, Luciano estimated 20 civilians had already gathered at the scene of the accident. One man, an unidentified neurosurgeon from Texas, was among the first on the scene.
The Texas native cared for the victims and called for a LifeFlight helicopter to transport the three victims to the hospital.
The helicopter was later canceled by authorities en route when it was determined it would be quicker to transport the three to the hospital by ambulance.
“It was quicker to transport them by ground then to load a helicopter, take off, and land at the hospital,” Luciano said.
The victims were loaded and transported by ambulance about 15 minutes after Luciano and other paramedics arrived on the scene. But traffic was backed up for about two hours before the investigation concluded.
Luciano said the only trouble was getting to the scene because of the amount of traffic congesting the interstate. Once there, he said everything went smoothly.
“It was pretty chaotic from the outside, pretty organized from the inside,” he said.
No official accident report has been released from the Maine State Police, which is investigating the accident.
Luciano said that all three passengers appeared to be wearing seat belts at the time of the crash.
Members of the campus community have banded together to support the victims and their families.
On Tuesday night, Laura Pruyne, the resident director of Hart Hall, held a hall meeting to inform her residents about the crash. All three of the victims were residents of Hart.
The conditions of the three students involved in the accident were disclosed but not much else could be discussed because of confidentiality reasons, according to Pruyne.
Pruyne and other faculty members like Dean of Students Robert Dana and Associate Dean for Students Angel Loredo have met with the victims’ families at the hospital to offer support and condolences.
“Dean Loredo and [Dean] Dana have been exceptional,” Pruyne said. “The campus has really come together in a great way.”
Mimmovich was also a member of the UMaine track and field team, another organization that has rallied support for the victims.
Track and field coach Rolland Ranson sent an e-mail to members of the team, updating them on what he knew about Mimmovich’s condition.
The e-mail told the athletes about donations, cards and flowers from the team. Ranson’s e-mail also stated Mimmovich may be moved out of the Intensive Care Unit at EMMC by today or tomorrow.
“At that time they will allow two to three people to visit him at a time. He is moving and has severe head injuries as well as severe injuries along his left side,” Ranson said in the e-mail.
Bangor Daily News