A Maine man is dead after a high-speed pursuit involving a sheriff's deputy ended in a head-on crash with a tractor trailer in Waterford earlier this week.
The Oxford County Sheriff's Office announced Friday that Thomas Welch, 42, of Porter, had died Monday following an incident on Route 93 southbound, otherwise known as Sweden Road.
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According to the sheriff's office, Sgt. Timothy Ontengco was engaged in a high-speed pursuit of a Honda Goldwing motorcycle around 10 a.m. on Sept. 30 when the motorcycle crossed the center line in the vicinity of Haskell Hill Road and crashed head on into a tractor trailer unit traveling northbound.
Sgt. Ontengco, along with witnesses, performed CPR and attempted to provided first aid to the motorcycle driver of the motorcycle, but those measures were unsuccessful and the motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.
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The man was later identified as Welch. Officials say his motorcycle, a 1986 Honda GL1200, was registered out of New Hampshire.
The tractor trailer, a blue 2025 Peterbilt, was registered to Dube Environmental Inc. out of Sidney, Maine, and was being being driven by 52-year-old Shawn Witham.
Witham, of Rome, Maine, was not injured in the crash, police say. The tractor trailer, which was hauling sewerage from Fryeburg Fair, was disabled as a result of the crash. There were no environmental concerns, however, as the trailer was intact.
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Officials have not said why Sgt. Ontengco was pursuing Welch on the motorcycle.
The Maine Attorney General’s Office, the Oxford County District Attorney’s Office, and the Maine State Police were notified of the fatality, which is in compliance with all required reporting procedures and Sheriff’s Office standard operating policies.
Several agencies are involved with the ongoing investigation of this motor vehicle fatality, the sheriff's office said.
