A driver avoided serious injury by swerving to avoid an oncoming vehicle in Winterport Wednesday around 11:30 a.m.

James Atencio, 85, of Searsport was driving south on Main Street when he noticed someone traveling north had drifted into his lane, according to a state trooper at the scene.

To avoid a possible head-on collision, Atencio swerved right, smashing through the guard rail and coming to rest in some brush on the side of the road.

"It happened so quickly," Atencio said. "I wasn't too far from the guard rail."

The Kia Optima he was driving sustained heavy damage to the front end. The airbag deployed in the crash but Atencio was not injured, only "shaken up," according to police. 

The homeowner who lives nearby at 1594 Main St. said there have been six or seven accidents on the same stretch of road in the past 20 years.

"The bridge ices up and it's hard to see somebody pulling out of the side roads," the homeowner said.

No charges are expected.

 

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