Camp counselors injured in rollover crash

By Gail Geraghty

Staff Writer

Six Naples summer camp counselors suffered minor injuries in a rollover accident around 7 p.m. Sunday on the Portland Road in Bridgton. Their injuries likely would have been much worse, had they not been wearing seatbelts, because the car rolled over around five times, Police Chief Kevin Schofield said Monday.

Schofield said the driver, Holden Hertzel, 20 of Cincinnati, Ohio, was distracted by a cell phone while headed south on Route 302 towards Naples, just past Mark’s Lawn and Garden. The speed limit there is 50 miles per hour, and preliminary indications are that he was driving at least that fast, Schofield said.

Other drivers who witnessed the crash said Hertzel’s 2003 Chevy SUV swerved into the south breakdown lane on the right, and when he overcorrected the car went sideways, rolling over four or five times before ending up in a ditch. The Chevy was totaled.

No extrication was needed to remove Hertzel and his five passengers, who were conscious and mobile when Bridgton Officer Mac McCormick arrived, along with Bridgton Fire Department volunteers. United Ambulance transported all six to Bridgton Hospital, where they were treated for non-life-threatening injuries and released, Schofield said.

The counselors, all in their early 20s, admitted to being distracted by the cell phone. Schofield said alcohol has been ruled out as a factor.