BANGOR, Maine — A 72-year-old Bangor man was heading north on Broadway about 6 p.m. Sunday when the minivan he was driving struck one car and then smashed head-on into another vehicle, killing his wife, who was his passenger, Bangor police Sgt. Paul Edwards said.

“Speed does seem to be a factor,” the sergeant said Sunday night, just feet from where the crash occurred near the Kev-Lan coffee shop at the junction of Broadway and Burleigh Road.

Ralph Morrison was identified as the driver of the minivan. His wife, Diane Morrison, 68, died at the scene. Ralph Morrison and six others injured in the collisions were sent to area hospitals, Edwards said in press releases.

Morrison was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center.

“His condition is not known at this time,” Edwards said Monday of Morrison, whom he described Sunday night as “incapacitated” and unable to answer questions.

Police have not yet interviewed Morrison, the sergeant said Monday.

Morrison’s 2007 Hyundai minivan first struck a 2000 Toyota driven by Bangor resident Wynona Butera, 71, who also was outbound on Broadway.
Her passengers, Evelyn Dowdy, 71, and Mary Cox, 90, were either transported by ambulance or went to local hospitals on their own, the sergeant said.

“Morrison’s vehicle careened off the 2000 Toyota and struck a third vehicle head-on that was traveling south on Broadway at the intersection — a 2002 GMC operated by 46-year-old Lisa Pelkey of Eddington,” Edwards said in a press release. “Her passengers, 47-year-old Raymond Pelkey and 11-year-old Alyssa Pelkey, along with Lisa, were all transported to EMMC.”

“Alyssa is in good condition,” Kelly Pearson, a spokeswoman for the hospital, said Monday morning. No information is available about her parents, or Morrison, she and another hospital official said.

Police are investigating why Morrison’s vehicle went out of control, as they do with all fatal crashes. The police department’s accident reconstruction team, which spent hours Sunday night at the scene, and criminal investigations division are investigating.

One eyewitness said Morrison’s vehicle “clipped that car there [the Toyota] and went out of control.”

Another witness said: “I heard screeching and looked out my passenger window and the SUV [the GMC vehicle] was straight up in the air. The next second the SUV was rolling over and glass was everywhere. It happened so quickly.”

Police are still looking for people who witnessed the fatal crash or have information about it. Those with information are asked to contact the Bangor Police Department at 947-7382. The anonymous tip line can be accessed by pressing ext. 6.