NEW VINEYARD – A 38-year-old Kingfield woman was killed in a two-vehicle crash on Route 27 Monday afternoon.
Sheriff Scott Nichols said the 1999 Dodge minivan driven by Samantha Wright, 38, of Kingfield, was traveling north on Route 27 and a 2006 Ford E250 van, owned by National Distributors Inc. of South Portland, was driven south by Craig Gage, 23, of Saco.
According to witnesses in another vehicle following the Ford van, they reportedly saw the Ford van drift into the shoulder on the right side of the road where there was an accumulation of ice and snow.
“The driver then over-corrected causing the vehicle to drift across the center line and into the path of the north-bound minivan,” Nichols said.
The minivan’s driver, Wright, died at the scene as a result of the accident. The driver of the Ford van, Gage, was transported to Franklin Memorial Hospital for the non-life threatening injuries he sustained.
The crash occurred just north of the Farmington town line near the Holley Road intersection.
Deputy Matthew Brann of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department is the lead investigating officer at the scene. He was assisted by Sheriff Nichols, Chief Deputy Steve Lowell, Lt. David St. Laurent and detectives Stephen Charles and Ken Charles and Cpl. Nathan Bean.
New Vineyard Fire Department, Farmington Fire Rescue Department and NorthStar ambulance personnel also assisted at the scene. Route 27, closed from the Route 4 intersection in Farmington to New Vineyard village, was reopened at 4:45 p.m.
The case is still under investigation.
Prayers out to all involved
So sad. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of those affected. My daughter was in an accident just north of their around the same time. So, lucky to walk away with a concussion.
Prayers to all.
Thoughts and prayers are with Samantha’s family and friend through this difficult time.
I wish Craig a full and fast recovery.
So sad that once again the driver that wasn’t at fault pays the ultimate price. Our thought and prayers to Samantha’s family.
This is so very sad. Thoughts and prayers.
Scary stuff. I feel terrible for everyone involved. What a tragedy!
my heart goes out to all of those affected by this tragic accident… Loss is never easy, but so much harder when it is avoidable.
Thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends
Such a tragedy, prayers to the family and friends, and especially her husband and baby. Sam will be missed by many. She was a wonderful person that a special gift of working with children.
My heart aches for Samantha’s family, especially her little baby who won’t have her beautiful mother around. Prayers for all her loved ones and for her soul.
Prayers to all involved and their families. Living with the death will haunt the lives of those involved forever. There can be no greater tragedy for the family of the woman and the driver. Accidents make no sense.
My prayers are being offered up for all involved, especially the young man who has to live with the results of something that appears to be a total accident. This weather can be brutal to divers…Blessings to the young woman’s family as well.
Sam was my swim coach at outdoor adventure camp. she always put a smile on my face and on everyone’s around her. praying for her family including her baby. this is truely a tragic accident that hurts a lot.
This is truly a horrific loss to the Sugarloaf, Carrabassett Valley and Kingfield communities. Sam and her husband Andy always had smiles on their faces and were everyone’s friends. They moved into their new home in Kingfield and had their baby Penny Quinn just over a year ago. Moreover, Sam was a teacher at her own private school with many pre-school and young children as students. My heart aches for Sam and Andy’s family and especially for Penny Quinn who will never know how terrific her mother was. Truly horrible I am in disbelief.
Prayers go out to sams family and friends and baby.
I feel so bad. I wonder what was so important that either one of them was out in such weather. I knew at 5:30 that it was bad, as I didn’t hear any trucks on Town Farm Road.
What a tragedy. Prayers are being offered for all the broken hearts. Life is but a vapor. Hug your loved ones today, no ones promised a tomorrow.
Very sad. In these conditions we all need to slow down and leave the “I phones” alone.
My prayers go out to both Sam’s and Craig’s family and friends. So very sorry ~ XOXO…
well said glenn. I was hoping it was not true myself. I wish Andy and the Wright family much strength to make it thru this nightmare. Sam will be missed by many.
my thoughts and prayers go out to all involved. and god bless the family of samantha. my heart truely aches for you.
My thougts and prayers for Samatha Wrights family. I do not know her but sorry for the loss. Prayers also for the other driver who was injuried.
I feel that the town could have taken care of the roads better, we live in new vineyard and the town plow truck that could have been used to push banks back, was rolled over at the bottom of our hill because they plain didnt get on it in time! Its 2014 we can fly around in outerspace but we cant figure out how to move snow or sand a road.
A very dangerous road that Rt 27. I count my blessings each and every time I travel over it. My thoughts and prayers to the Wright family. God bless all involved and give them strength.
No one but the icy road conditions were to blame for this tragic event. My heart goes out to all involved in this horrible event.
Sam was such a smart, beautiful, kind, wonderful person. She and her family are in my prayers.
Damian, this is rural Maine. The road crews work around the clock. If that isn’t to your satisfaction, perhaps you should move to a more urban area.
I am so sad ,Sam was the best of the best and my heart is broken for her family.
While I did not witness the actual accident I came upon it before emergency personal and law enforcement did. There might have been a first responder at the scene, but if there was, it not obvious. Let me tell you what was obvious. There were two young people directing lines of traffic around the wreckage of this tragic accident and a young dark hair man leaning over and reaching through the crushed window and door of a caravan that had come to rest on the right side of the highway. He appeared to be touching something, a person perhaps, in a manner that I would perceive as a way to render comfort. He looked stunned.
I can’t say for sure who he was, but I would guess it was the young driver of the van trying to make amends to a woman he did not know, for a tragic accident that took her life. I will never forget the heartbreak on that young man’s face. My heart goes out to all those who are involved in this tragedy. Prayers for all…
If there is blame, then blame the poor infrastructure. Our roads could be better and the reason they are not rests squarely on the shoulders of the voters and politicians of our state. It’s not the fault of the hardworking people who maintain our roads. They do their best with what they have to work with.
While it is insignificant compared to the tragic loss the Wrights have suffered, think also of the loss of the business who owns the other vehicle. I don’t know the details of the accident, but I know that I have caught a tire on snow on the edge of the road too, even while driving with caution and having every advantage of equipment for winter driving in Maine. The driver and his employer may very well be blameless.
Many lament the lack of business in Maine. Many blame our rules, regulations, unions, and taxes. Poor infrastructure, and poor maintenance of it, are also to blame for our economic woes.
The stretch of Rt. 27 from Carrabassett through Kingfield and into Farmington has seen far, far too many serious accidents over many years.
The resulting tragedies are to be born by all who have failed to improve it.
I think that people judge way to much and should not say anything if u have nothing nice to say I think it was deffently a accident and was all due to weather thoughts and prayers go out to both families
that is a terrible stretch of road in the winter my daughter was in a single car accident the night before on that road thank God she escaped with mere bruises my heart goes out to the families involved
Snowman, if there is a blame it would be lack of prudent driving, not infrastructure. In fact using your reasoning the infrastructure at that location is overbuilt. Had there been no guardrail she likely would have survived.
My heart aches for Sam’s family and the whole community. I did not know her well but enough to know that she always had a smile on her face and had beautiful spirit. She will surely be missed by all she ever came in contact with.
Damian. Please check your facts. The plow truck that was overturned that day was not one responsible for sanding rt 27. The overturned truck is one that is contracted for town roads. Rt 27 is a state road. I am so thankful that the driver of the sander was not seriously injured. I can assure you that all of the plow drivers, state and town, know what they’re doing and do it well. It can be a very thankless job. Hours on end plowing and sanding, and very few people say thanks. Most call to complain that they missed a spot, or put too much snow at the end of a driveway. Sadly it was a treacherous storm with a tragic ending.
I continue to pray for all involved and/or affected by this tragedy.
Captain Planet and Snowman: Your utter lack of compassion and sensitivity reveal a stunning ignorance. A mother, wife, sister, and daughter has been lost and a young man’s life forever changed. Guard rails, infrastructure, and your ignorance will not change that fact.