Two young children strapped in safety seats survived a car crash that killed their mother and spent the night in the wreckage before a truck driver spotted the vehicle off Interstate 95 Monday, police say.
Liza Parker, 26, of Bangor died in the crash, but rescuers found her two children, Mason Worcester, 5, and Tiaona Robinson, 18 months, in the Mazda station wagon after it was spotted in a thickly wood section of the median around 1:30 p.m., Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said.
“The kids were still in the car, but I’m not sure if they were still in their car seats” when rescuers finally arrived, McCausland said.
The children were pulled out by workers from the Old Town Fire and Rescue Department. They were being treated at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor for minor injuries.
McCausland said the trucker noticed the wreck as he was heading north at mile 197. It may have been easier for the trucker to spot the car because he was at a higher elevation than most motorists, McCausland said.
“It’s likely that hundreds of drivers passed by the scene without noticing anything,” McCausland said.
Maine State Police believe Parker’s car went off the highway on a curve and became airborne, overturning several times before coming to rest on its side.
Parker was reported missing Sunday night when she failed to show up in Howland with her children to meet her ex-husband.
State troopers who investigated the crash believe it happened Sunday evening.
WCSH-TV interviewed Parker in January for a story about the Hills House in Ellsworth, a treatment center for mothers struggling with addiction. Parker spent six months living at Hills House.
“I’ve seen more and been through more in the past two years than people will probably in their life. I’m beyond grateful to be here,” Parker told WCSH-TV. Parker said she sold drugs to support her habit before getting caught.
“If I didn’t get caught I would probably be dead – it was pretty bad,” Parker said.
Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:
dhoey@pressherald.com
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