ROCHESTER — Police said 17-year-old girl passenger died as a result of injuries in a single-vehicle crash on Salmon Falls Road Wednesday night.
On Thursday, police Capt. Todd Pinkham said he was still working on notifications and hoped to have more to release later in the day.
That area of Salmon Falls Road, near Ida Circle and Tara Estates, was closed to traffic for several hours, police said.
Rochester police are investigating a fatal crash Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023.
The passenger was found unresponsive by emergency personnel from Rochester police, fire and Frisbie EMS, who determined the person had died. Police said there were two other passengers in the vehicle and no other occupants were seriously injured.
The identity of the deceased person and identities of the other people involved were not immediately released by police.
Pinkham said there were four occupants of the car. All remain unidentified but he said the driver was 21, and the other two passengers in the rear of the GMC Sonoma were 15 and 16. One of the passengers was from Rochester, but the other three were from the Sanford, Maine.
“We have spoken to school officials there to make sure they had plans in place to offer services to the students there,” said Pinkham. “We are not releasing any names at this time.”
Pinkham said the girl who died was a passenger in the front seat. He said the other three people were not injured in the single-car accident.
“It appears they were headed north on Salmon Falls Road, near Tara Estates,” said Pinkham. “A lot of accidents have happened on that road, but this was not at the corner where we often see accidents, so I do not see it being related.”
Pinkham said it appears the truck veered off the road, struck a utility pole and then a mailbox, on the passenger side of the vehicle.
“We brought in accident reconstruction teams,” said Pinkham. “At this time, I cannot say if alcohol or other substances was a factor. From my observance at the scene I do not think speed was a factor.”
The Strafford County Regional Technical Accident Reconstruction Team assisted police, police said, adding the accident remains under investigation.
