Four People Killed in Head-on Crash in Northern Aroostook [UPDATE]

State Police say four people were killed, and one was hospitalized after a head-on crash near Stockholm Monday morning. 

At approximately 10:15 a.m., Maine State Police received a 9-1-1 call reporting a serious head-on collision on Route 161 at Madawaska Lake in an area known locally as Rainbow Cove.

Caribou Ambulance and North Lakes Fire & Rescue responded to the crash along with members of Troop F, according to Lt. John Cote.  The investigation revealed a southbound SUV was attempting to overtake a tractor-trailer unit when it struck a northbound sedan head-on.

The driver of the SUV, 38-year-old Kimberly Lausier of Madawaska, was killed in the crash along with three occupants of the car, Cote said.  All were pronounced dead at the scene by EMS personnel.

A passenger in the SUV, 53-year-old Robert Lausier, survived with serious injuries that are not considered life-threatening.   He was taken by ambulance to Cary Medical Center in Caribou, and later transferred to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

Killed in the sedan were: The driver, 33-year-old Bobbi-Jo Johnston of Fort Fairfield.  Her mother, 52-year-old Laurie Ann Johnston, of Carlingford,  New Brunswick.  Also killed was 2-year-old Alana A. Nelson, the daughter of Bobbi-Jo Johnston.

North Lakes Fire Department Personnel extricated the victims using the Jaws of Life and they were taken to Mockler Funeral Home in Caribou.  Warden Alan Dudley assisted Trooper Marc Poulin in mapping and reconstructing the crash.  Route 161 was closed for several hours  Monday during the investigation.

State Police interviewed witnesses but have yet to speak with the operator of the tractor-trailer, who may not have realized the crash occurred.  State Police are asking if someone was operating a tractor with a box style trailer southbound on Route 161 near Rainbow Cove at the time of the crash, that they contact the State Police Barracks in Houlton at 532-5400.