The day began as most Christmas mornings do. "Sitting by the Christmas tree opening up gifts,” said Sullivan resident Jason Soule. Suddenly the phone rings, and it's the chief of police on the other end. "Right from then I knew it wasn't good,” said Soule.
That's when Soule learned his longtime friend, classmate, employee, and tenant, John Organes, 35, of Sullivan, had been killed when his car drifted over the center line on Route 1 in Gouldsboro Christmas morning.
"Johnny didn't really have much family left in Maine but he had a lot of friends,” said Soule of Organes.
Organes' car hit a sedan head-on, being driven by Michael Grant, 60, of Orrington.
He survived the collision, but his wife, Lisa Grant, 57, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Soule learned Wednesday that both victims are his close family friends.
"It's kind of surreal, you know, such a small community,” said Soule.
The crash in Gouldsboro was only one of three deadly crashes in the state this holiday season that left five people dead, and two others injured.
The first happened just after midnight on Christmas Eve in Waldo.
The Waldo County Sheriff's Department say, Sarah Leclerc, 27, of Brooks, died when her 2005 Toyota 4Runner left the roadway, hitting a tree.
This crash is still under investigation, though officials are looking into black ice and whether Leclerc was wearing a seatbelt, as contributing factors.
Another crash, this time in Canton just 12-hours after the Gouldsboro collision, also on Christmas Day.
Shawn Hodge, 38, of Rumford, and Sarah Bosworth, 26, of Mexico, were killed in a single-car crash on Canton Point Road in Canton Tuesday night shortly before 9:30 p.m.
At last check, a third person in the car is in serious condition.
As for Soule, he said “everyone's sad for the families. The Downeast community is so small, everyone knows everyone, and just a lot of people [have been] hurt by it.”
The causes of all three fatal crashes are still under investigation Wednesday night.