Van Buren Man Seriously Injured in Log Truck Collision in Orient

Maine State Police report a Van Buren man was seriously injured Friday morning when two log trucks collided head-on on Route 1 in Orient.

Police and emergency responders were called to the crash at the Amity/Orient town line at around 9:30 a.m., according to Sgt. Chadwick Fuller of Troop F.

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The initial investigation found that 31-year-old James "Jimmy" Walsh of Van Buren was headed north in a 2021 Western Star tractor-trailer when he crossed into the opposite lane.

Police say 66-year-old Larry Belanger of Mapleton was driving south in a 2014 Peterbilt tractor-trailer and attempted to swerve into the northbound lane to avoid a crash but struck the other logging truck head-on.

Walsh’s rig went off the road, plowed through the snow down a slight embankment and spilled its load of logs. He was reported to be trapped in the cab until EMS personnel were able to rescue him.

Walsh was transported by LifeFlight to Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor with serious injuries.

Belanger sustained what police say were minor injuries in the collision.

The crash remains under investigation. We will have more details as they become available.

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Here are Maine's Fast Growing Towns

The 2010 decade was a steady one for population growth in Maine. According to citypopulation.de, a site that analyzes Census data, Maine had a growth of roughly .25% from 2010 to 2020.

That is relatively strong data for a state that continues to grow and progress.

While many towns were in and around that average, there were many that outperformed the state's average.

Here is a look at the towns that had the best growth over that period of time.