Driver’s condition improving
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — The condition of the driver of a vehicle involved in a fatal crash on the Conant Road February 18, continues to improve, according to hospital officials at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.
David Hayes, 63, of Fort Fairfield, was injured when he and passenger Roman Yoder, 22, of Fort Fairfield, stopped behind a Presque Isle plow truck operated by Wayne Howlett, 40, of Mapleton, that had been involved in a head-on collision with a pick-up truck, driven by Philip Bird, 60, of Fort Fairfield. Neither of those truck drivers were injured. A log truck, operated by Leigh Gordon, 56, of Ashland, came upon the scene, but due to poor weather and road conditions, was unable to stop. Hayes’s vehicle, a 2002 Ford Escape, was pinned between the plow and log trucks, killing the passenger and critically injuring Hayes.
Hayes was transported by Crown Ambulance to The Aroostook Medical Center, then transported to EMMC with unspecified injuries, where he was initially listed in critical condition. Hayes’ condition has since improved. An EMMC official said Tuesday morning that Hayes was now listed in serious condition.
The accident remains under investigation by the Presque Isle Police Department, with assistance from the Maine State Police.
