HOWLAND, Maine — The Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department’s chief deputy suffered a head injury when his cruiser struck a moose on Lagrange Road in Howland early Sunday morning, Sheriff Glenn Ross said Sunday afternoon.
Chief Deputy Troy Morton’s vehicle struck the moose shortly after midnight, according sheriff’s Sgt. William Sheehan.
Ross said Morton struck his head on equipment in the vehicle during the crash. The air bags did not deploy.
“He’s been hospitalized, but we’re hopeful for a full recovery,” Ross said.
A nursing supervisor at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor said Sunday evening that Morton had been treated at the hospital and released.
The impact broke the cruiser’s windshield and tore off a side mirror, but damage was minor, according to Ross.
“I think it was a low-speed event,” Ross said.
Ross said he believes the moose was able to wander away from the scene of the crash and that deputies did not go searching for it.
The Sheriff’s Department was assisted at the scene by state police, Howland Rescue Services and Penobscot Valley Hospital ambulance service, Sheehan said.
LOL, dark night, raining , middle of now where. Yeah, these things stick out like a sore thumb.
Or speeding.
600 crashes with moose a year in Maine alone. Its fairly common.
http://www.maine.gov/mdot/mainedotnews/moose04162009.htm
Not saying he was speeding. Many times I have witness officers speed when not even in thier respective counties. Like the cops doing 92 when he hit a deer . Anyone else would have been arrested for driving to endanger. Not saying this guy was doing anything wrong. I asked a certain county commissioner to slow down On my road . His reply was “do you know who I am”. Like that would have gone any where if I reported him.
You should have said ” yes, I know who you are, you are a speeder with ego issues”.
Yes I did say I know who you are. His reply was do you want me to get out of my truck rights now? He might be a bit older than I am but is a big man.
Anyone know what was really going on in Howland last night? On the way home we were headed towards Lagrange and counted in the neighborhood of 30 or so police cruisers along with 50 or so civilian vehicles parked on the side of the road. They weren’t all in one area, they were spead out in different areas along a 2 or 3 mile stretch.
Chickenfest. Humongous college party out in the woods.
Chicken Fest. Something like 3 to 500 kids at some sort of Bumstock/Woodstock type of party
Maybe the dread lock colony on Lagrange was having a pot luck supper? I hear they make a good chili with lots of mushrooms.
At the time of the accident i was listening to the scanner. Penobscot had a unit reporting to an assault at La Casa in Dolby responding from Enfield. They had units at the Chickenfest, units at a reported stabbing in Howland and then the call came in for a car/moose accident 3 miles from I-95. I heard them calling units from other areas to respond to the accident. Makes ya wonder how would of that been handled if it was a civilian. I hit a moose about 10 yrs ago now and had to wait 3 hrs for a trooper or sheriff to respond because the front of my car was 18 inches outside the town of Millinocket.
Ya think we will ever know what really happened?
ummm, I think you need to read it again..his name is……………..
Thanks
Because we all know wildlife always stops and looks left, right, left before crossing the road.
There is always a pompus know it all that whines when a LEO is involved in a traffic accident.
Dark night, rain and an animal that is dark and with eyes that don’t reflect light.
You’ve never hit a moose. I hit one in Sidney and had no warning.
Well I tried to post a reply to Deysongrey but Big Brother BDN wont allow me to so the rest of you do me a favor and rip em one.
Penobscots chief deputy actually goes on patrol??? Take note of this Piscataquis County Commissioners! I bet their Sheriff actually works also……………………
lmao, i bet your wrong, our sheriff just notifys criminals when their under investigation…
That’s why electing law enforcement officials is a bad idea.
Wishing Deputy Morton well and a speedy recovery from any and all injuries…..
I hit one about 4 years ago. It was at night, and we were actually going 10 or so under the speed limit due to the amount of deer in the area. Even with dry roads and clear conditions, moose are almost impossible to spot at night unless you have serious illumination in your vehicle. My step-son and I got away with no injuries, unfortunately the moose didnt fare as well.
Or maybe he was responding to a call! Use your brain!
What is the Chief Deputy doing cruising around at midnight?
Chicken Fest.
So sorry massah I dared to question the driving skills of LEO or to expect that they hold to the same standard as us. God forbid I hit a moose, I don’t think everyone would be so forgiving.
What part of this story suggests that a cop hitting a moose got off any differently than a civilian would have? What would we have to forgive you for if you did hit a moose? How about you just thank him for being out there working at midnight. Not bad for a guy who I’m fairly certain is salary.
Because if this story said “regular citizen hits moose at 2 am” the comments would be FLOODED with “i bet he was drinking!” is it so wrong to think that it’s possible for a cop to have been doing something he shouldn’t when this very same cop would probably treat me the same way if I was the one who hit the moose?
Its nice to see that you too have a problem with uninformed people commenting on things that have no factual information about. Beyond that, I tend to disagree with you. I do think it’s wrong for one to ASSUME that a cop was doing something wrong, absent any facts that suggest it. The same as anyone else. I think that moose crashes are very common in this state and REASONABLE people would not assume that there would be something else that may have contributed to the crash wit the given information. As I said in another post, this state averages 600 car v. moose crashes a year. There are well documented statistics and facts that explain why this number is so high. Given how many cops are driving around at night, you would expect that a few would also hit moose. Having met “this very same cop” and being close to a handful in this area, I’m confident that he would have responded to your crash, assessed the situation and made the appropriate conclusion as to how your crash occurred.
BDN: why do you keep removing my comments even tho i’m following the guidelines… was not demeaning, was was not harassing, and was on topic…. reasoning??
Hey Proud—with all due respect, you’re wrong. Often they’re using their computers to check plates for status, or talking on the phone to get directions to a call. I dare say that LEO’s are FAR better trained drivers than you are. Part of the training includes the ability to multi-task. I, for one, have driven down the road while responding to a call, using my radio, reading the notes on my computer and calling dispatch to get info that can’t be relayed via the radio. LEO’s, for the most part, are the most skilled drivers on the road and train to be so.
With all due respect sir, I think the problem people have with Police Officers is that they see them doing things that a civilian would be fined for. A regular civilian doesn’t see any laws saying that it is legal and allowed for a PO to use computers, radio’s, cell phones, and whatever else while driving. Not every civilian is a terrible driver and im sure there are people who can drive and use a cell phone perfectly fine but because they are a civilian they can be fined. With any department you have your bad apples, the ones that do see themselves above the law and those stick out more than the good cops. I have seen PO drive their personal truck to work, not inspected, tinted windows, dual exhaust. Goes into work and an hour later pulls me over for tinted windows, pulls my buddy over for loud exhaust and not inspected. Those cops is what ruins it for the rest and that is what people remember more than the ones that do a good job.
James, I believe Title 29A of the Maine Traffic Code allows LEO’s to use electronic devices while driving and in the regular course of their duties.
Thank you, that is something that needs to be made more aware to the general public. To often a civilian see’s the laws that they are to be following as the same as a PO.
I have been checking but i haven’t see anything yet, if you can find it, could you post the chapter, and subchapter.
Can you show you me where MSRA 29A states that?
There’s no point Wayne. Haters will be haters. It doesn’t matter what the cops are doing, guys like this was always have a complaint. Reasonable people know that in large part, our cops are honest, safe and human. He might understand if he ever walked in the shoes of a cop but he doesn’t, won’t and wouldn’t if he could.
first of all you don’t know me, or the person i am, or what i’ve done or been through, so please don’t put me down in your posts for posting my opinion…. thank you. second of all i have NO problem with the police, in fact i work with them almost on a daily basis as a firefighter/emt. your right i wouldn’t be a cop, i enjoy my job saving lives too much… on that note sir/ma’am have a great day -=)
First of all, you don’t know this cop. You don’t know the person he is, what he’s done and what he’s been through. However, if you continue to spew non-factual speculation, I will continue to shed some light on the topic with facts and circumstances I know to be true and or reasonably reliable.
Beyond that, Glad to have you on the fire side, God knows I wouldn’t do it.
better trained drivers huh?! … i have Ambulance vehicle operations class, Fire Apparatus operations class, defensive driving classes. to assume i’m just a poster saying things to be ignorant is a bad assumption. they have radios to check plates, and if i have to use a hands free headset to legally talk on my phone and drive (which i do ) than they should too there is NO reason to be on a computer while driving. in my exp as a firefighter/emt it takes SECONDS if not FRACTIONS of a second for a kid to run in the road, for ANYTHING to happen that you aren’t planning for… sorry but what if next time it’s not a moose? what if it’s someones loved one?! i’m not saying this officer is a bad person, i’ve dealt with him on scenes before. i’m just saying if it’s illegal for civilians, than it should be more so for public service providers.
You guys are awful, this is a guy that puts his life in danger every day to protect everyone of you. People hit moose all the time, they come out of no where, there is no stopping in time. Can you prove that he was speeding or that he was distracted..? No you can’t. Pay some respect to his family, they are going through a lot..they could have lost him. Should be ashamed of yourselves.
they don’t want proof, they don’t need it. They just want a platform to whine about something they know nothing about. It lets they talk about THEIR issues rather than the truth or the reported story
You guys are awful, this is a guy that puts his life in danger every day to protect everyone of you. People hit moose all the time, they come out of no where, there is no stopping in time. Can you prove that he was speeding or that he was distracted..? No you can’t. Pay some respect to his family, they are going through a lot..they could have lost him. Should be ashamed of yourselves.
i can’t prove he was distracted, and you can’t prove he wasn’t. how ever with MY observations, 8 out of ten times i see a police officer driving, they’re talking on their phone, or on their computer, or what ever else. HARDLY EVER do you see one that’s not. if BY LAW, i can’t talk on my phone and drive with out a handsfree head set, why can they!? IMHO position is no excuse for ignorance of the law.
You guys are awful, this is a guy that puts his life in danger every day to protect everyone of you. People hit moose all the time, they come out of no where, there is no stopping in time. Can you prove that he was speeding or that he was distracted..? No you can’t. Pay some respect to his family, they are going through a lot..they could have lost him. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
These people don’t stop to think that officer was on duty for that entire day and all night, and the fact that he was trying to help his crew. Screw the fact that people are whining about the difference between responding time for civilians and the officer, except the fact there were about 30 units there for Chickenfest therefore they were close. Think about the officer and his family for once, this time is tough and his position and authority need not to be question. Matter of fact after discussing with the Chief what happened he was only protecting himself and the county’s car and ended up getting injuried by some equipement inside the car AS STATED IN THE ARTICLE. He doesn’t need some people ruining his reputation considering most of you don’t have a clue about his line of work. He is one of the most respected officers in the area and if you knew this individual you would see his willingness to work with those in comes in contact with. It is so sad to see something so terrible happen to a man who doesn’t deserve this situation at a time he is very busy helping the county. This poor man was lying in his hospital bed and begging to be released and go back to work, not to mention he was having rough time walking and very sick due to the concussion. So please don’t open your mouth this is not the place, because his family and friends do look at this. Thanks!