MANCHESTER — Two men, including one who was thrown from the vehicle, escaped serious injury Tuesday when their car rolled several times and hit a tree during a Prescott Road crash.

The driver, Jeffrey Worthing, 18, of Manchester, and his passenger, 18-year-old Eric Bachand, of Rome, were taken by ambulance to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, said Sgt. David Bucknam, of the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office. Bachand, who was thrown from the car during the crash, suffered a leg injury in addition to glass and dirt in his eyes, Bucknam said. Worthing suffered minor cuts and scrapes and got out of the car on his own.

“Both appear to be fine,” Bucknam said.

The crash occurred around 2:15 p.m., as Worthing drove his Chevrolet Cavalier north on Prescott Road. He lost control of it near the Whitten Farm, traveled about 100 yards down the road and another 50 yards in the right-side ditch, Bucknam said. The car went up a small embankment, through a fence and into a cow pasture.

“At that point, I think they were airborne,” Bucknam said.

The car rolled a number of times and struck a tree about the size of a utility pole, breaking it off about 2 feet off the ground. The car came to rest about 25 feet from a fast-flowing creek that Bucknam estimated was 4 feet deep. Bachand landed next to the creek.

“If they had landed in that creek, they would have been in deep trouble,” he said.

There were no charges as of Tuesday afternoon, but the crash remains under investigation, Bucknam said.

“Speed was a contributor,” he said.


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