Auburn man injured in head-on collision

Photo: Chuck Blaquiere

DAMAGED — A 2009 Ford Focus driven by Emile Pepin, 70, of Auburn was damaged extensively after colliding head-on with another vehicle in Oxford Monday morning. Oxford Police Lieutenant Michael Ward said the vehicle was a total loss, but Pepin managed to escape the accident with minor injuries. 

OXFORD —  An Auburn man received minor injuries after his vehicle collided head-on with another vehicle at the intersection of Routes 121 and 26 Monday morning. 

Emile Pepin, 70, of Auburn was traveling south on Route 26 around 7:30 a.m. when his 2009 Ford Focus struck an oncoming vehicle while making a left turn onto Route 121 toward Mechanic Falls, said Oxford Police Lieutenant Michael Ward. 

According to Ward, Pepin failed to yield to the other vehicle – a 1998 Ford Explorer driven by Thomas Leahy, 63, of Wakefield, MA – which was traveling north, and struck it head-on. 

Leahy was not injured in the accident, said Ward. Pepin, on the other hand, complained of back, shoulder and knee injuries. He was sent to Stephens Memorial Hospital for treatment.  

Ward said that after the vehicles collided, the Ford Explorer spun out of control and landed on the median strip. 

Meanwhile, instead of hitting the brakes, Pepin accidentally stepped on his accelerator, hit a curb, went airborne and crashed into a parked tractor-trailer unit in the nearby Big Apple parking lot. According to Ward, the front-end of the trailer was damaged, and is estimated to cost $1,000-$2,000. 

Ward said there was no one in the tractor-trailer when the crash happened. 

The other two vehicles were a total loss, he said. 

Photo: Chuck Blaquiere

HEAD-ON COLLISION — A 1998 Ford Explorer, driven by 63-year-old Thomas Leahy of Wakefield, MA lands on the median strip at the intersection of Routes 121 and 26 Monday morning after colliding head-on with another vehicle.