State police said charges could be pending in connection with a single-vehicle crash Friday afternoon that left a Sabattus woman — and the 2005 Pontiac G6 she was driving — in Cobbosseecontee Stream.
Around 4:30 p.m. Friday, police said, 33-year-old Rebecca Sanders was driving her vehicle east on Route 126 in Litchfield. Trooper Ian Dunn, of the Maine State Police, said Sanders reportedly lost control of the vehicle just before the bridge at the Litchfield/West Gardiner town line, hit a guardrail and careened through a clearing before coming to rest 30 or 40 feet into the stream.
Jon Phillips, who was staying at his nearby camp in West Gardiner, said he heard the screeching of tires and immediately called 911. When he arrived at the crash site, Phillips said, he didn’t see any signs of a crash until he saw Sanders in the water.
“I could smell the rubber,” he said, recalling what he experienced walking up to the accident scene. “There’s this girl swimming in the water with a life vest on. She was really shook up, a lot of blood. I can’t believe she survived. The only part of the car that wasn’t smashed was the driver’s seat.
Dunn said Sanders was able to get out of the car on her own but did not know how she escaped. Phillips said Sanders told him there was no one in the car and that she retrieved a life jacket from her vehicle after she crashed into the water.
Sanders was taken to the hospital after “general complaints of pain,” according to Dunn, but was discharged before Monday. Dunn said he suspected speed and alcohol were factors in the crash. He said search warrants were filed for Sanders’s blood and medical records. Dunn said Sanders was showing signs of impairment and expected charges to be filed against her after tests are complete.
The vehicle was pulled out of the stream by AC Towing.
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