Fort Kent Man Killed in Crash on Route 161

A 38-year-old Fort Kent man died early Saturday morning after his pickup truck went off the road and struck some trees in Cross Lake Township.

Maine State Police responded to a report of a single-vehicle accident on Route 161 around 3:30 a.m. Trooper Corey Hafford stated in a news release that Mark Paradis of Fort Kent, who was alone in the truck, was killed in the crash.

A preliminary investigation showed that Paradis’ 2002 Chevrolet S-10 pickup drifted off the roadway and into the tree line, indicating that he had likely fallen asleep at the wheel. Paradis was not wearing a seat belt, according to Corporal Hafford.

North Lakes Fire & Rescue and Fort Kent Ambulance Service responded to the scene. Several trees had fallen on the power lines as a result of the crash, causing an outage in the Cross Lake area.  A crew from Emera Maine restored service a short time later.

The investigation into the fatal crash is ongoing, Hafford said.

Note:State Police corrected their initial report to say that the victim was 38 years old, not 28.