WEST PARIS — The driver and surviving passenger of a car in which two people died early Saturday left the scene and were found a mile away, the fire chief said Monday.
Kristina Lowe, 18, who suffered serious injuries, returned to a house where a drinking party had been going on, said Fire Chief Norm St. Pierre. He said an ambulance crew picked up Lowe at the house, about a mile away from the crash scene.
Passenger Jacob Skaff, 22, also left the scene and was found a mile from it, but not at the same place as Lowe, St. Pierre said. He said Skaff was found with relatives.
Maine State Police are investigating several aspects of the crash that killed two teenagers.
According to Maine State Police spokesman Steve McCausland, driver Lowe was texting people at the party when she crashed.
Passengers Rebecca Mason, 16, of West Paris, a sophomore at the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, and Logan Dam, 19, of Norway, a former Oxford Hills School District student, were killed when the 2002 Subaru Impreza they were in went out of control and crashed on its roof into trees off Route 219 Saturday morning, just after midnight.
A fourth passenger, Skaff of Paris, was treated and released at Stephens Memorial Hospital.
Texting while driving has been illegal in Maine since September. Maine has a zero-tolerance policy for alcohol consumption for drivers under 21.
McCausland said that drivers in fatal crashes undergo blood-alcohol tests under Maine law, but said he didn’t know specifically whether a test was administered on Lowe.
Lowe was at Maine Medical Center in Portland on Monday. The hospital is not releasing information on her condition, but McCausland said her injuries are “not life-threatening.”
“I suspect there will be a long recuperation period,” McCausland said.
St. Pierre, who responded to the crash, said he didn’t know who the surviving passenger was until he heard Skaff’s name in news reports.
The final crash report will be forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office before any charges are filed. McCausland said the speed of Lowe’s recovery could affect the charges and when they are filed.
McCausland said there are subsequent investigations under way into the party where underage drinking was taking place and on where the alcohol was purchased and how.
Police say Lowe had gone to Mason’s home and that Mason was riding back to the party with the others when Lowe lost control of the car.
No charges have been filed yet as a result of the accident.
“This crash is a sad reminder of the dangers of texting and driving,” McCausland said.
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