LEWISTON — A man who was critically injured after he shot himself repeatedly with a flare gun Tuesday is married to a well-known Maine author who grew up in Mexico.
Daniel Abbott, 65, of Portland continued to be listed in critical condition Thursday at Maine Medical Center in Portland, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
He is being treated for injuries and burns to his head, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said.
Abbott shot himself three times with a flare gun Tuesday morning in a pickup truck on Interstate 295.
Police say the inside of Abbott’s truck caught fire after he shot himself with the flare gun. Jayson Forgues, 42, of Freeport and Paul Oleston, 48, of Topsham stopped on I-295 to help Abbott, according to McCausland. Forgues used his fire extinguisher to put out the fire in the cab while Oleston helped pull Abbott to safety.
The pickup had been modified to run on propane, and troopers say if the fire had reached the propane tank in the truck’s bed, it likely would have exploded.
Police said the incident is being investigated as a possible suicide attempt.
McCausland said Thursday that Abbott is married to Monica Wood, a Portland author who grew up in Mexico.
She is the author of the memoir “When We Were the Kennedys” as well as the recent play “Papermaker.” Both works are set in the Rumford area, where Wood and Abbott met before being married for nearly 40 years, according to published reports.
Abbott is a longtime and “highly regarded” professor at Southern Maine Community College, where he teaches computer-aided design, technical graphics and mechanical design in the architectural and engineering design department, according to school spokesman Clarke Canfield.
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