SANDY RIVER PLANTATION, Maine — Two teens were killed and several other people, including a couple in their 70s, were seriously injured in a crash in Sandy River Plantation Monday night.
Around 8:45 p.m., a couple from Cushing—Karl Crute, 79, and his wife Laraine Crute, 79—was traveling north on Route 4 in Sandy River Plantation. At the same time, a car driven and occupied by Kaylee Knight, 18, of Chesterville and four teenage passengers was traveling south. The two vehicles collided and as a result, two of the passengers in the vehicle driven by Knight were killed:
- Thomas Deckard-Madore, 17, of Strong
- Michaela Morgan, 15, of Phillips
The Crutes, along with one other passenger in the car with Knight, remain hospitalized and are being treated for serious injuries.
"She was quiet, she was smart, she was very quick to smile," Mt. Abram girls varsity soccer coach, Andrew Delcourt said of Morgan.
"The spirit of the team. I'd say everything changed once he joined," boys varsity basketball coach, Dustin Zamboni added describing Deckard-Madore coming back to Mt. Abram after moving away.
The Mt. Abram school superintendent says there will be four counselors available to students both in person or virtually and there will be no remote school on Wednesday. In a statement superintendent, Todd Sanders wrote in part "...In times like this the ability to maintain as much normalcy will help many students and staff deal with the emotions they will undoubtedly experience..."
The Maine State Police Department continues to investigate the cause of the crash.
State Police were assisted by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, Rangeley Police Department, Farmington Police Department, Somerset Sheriff’s Office, Franklin County District Attorney’s Office, and multiple other fire and rescue agencies from the surrounding areas.