A Raymond man in a pickup truck slammed into a car driven by a woman, also from Raymond, on Tuesday morning totaling both vehicles and causing major morning rush hour traffic delays.

Donald McKay, 20, was heading home in his Ford Ranger when, just before 8 a.m. he crossed the centerline and hit Louise LaFrance, 77, head-on.

According to Captain William Rhoads of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, McKay had been up all night in Portland with a friend and “possibly fell asleep at the wheel.” Although they do not suspect alcohol was involved, they have tested for drugs but results of those tests were not available at press time.

“Josh Stevens was the first firefighter on the scene from Raymond,” said Raymond Fire Chief Denis Morse. “He assessed the situation and asked for Windham’s assistance.”

Since Windham had a truck already headed toward Raymond, they simply turned on their lights and siren and got there quickly.

“Windham was in extrication mode within six to eight minutes of the call,” Morse said.

It took firefighters about 30 minutes to remove LaFrance from her vehicle using the Jaws of Life.

LaFrance was rushed to Maine Medical Center with severe head, neck, and chest trauma. As of Thursday morning, she was listed in satisfactory condition.

McKay was also taken to Maine Medical Center where he was treated and released.

The accident caused major traffic tie-ups in both directions. Windham-bound traffic was redirected up Route 85, across Egypt Road and through Gray.

Through-traffic was shut down for several hours as EMTs, firefighters, and the Sheriff’s Office took care of the injured, reconstructed the accident and cleaned up debris.

At the height of activity, Chief Morse figures there were three ambulances, three pieces of fire apparatus, and eight to ten cruisers. Traffic management was handled by the fire police.

Morse was concerned by the way motorists were treating this elderly group of volunteers.

“When I went through, my windows were down,” Morse said, “and people were using very vulgar language to the fire police.”

Coincidentally, the accident took place the same day Morse requested and received from the Board of Selectmen capital reserve funding for better extrication equipment.

Explaining the need for the fund to the selectmen Tuesday evening, Morse said revenue generated from services provided in automobile accidents would be set aside in this fund to pay for new equipment.

According to Morse, part of the need is because cars are continually being redesigned.

“More vehicles have more air bags, cars are designed to break away from the motor,” he said.

These changes in design mean changes in rescue procedure and equipment. Some of the new door reinforcements are very difficult to cut. Jaws of Life are now made stronger and lighter than before and “the level of equipment has to keep up.”

In the last seven years, Raymond has averaged between 75 and 80 car crashes per year. In that time, Morse believes there were between eight and ten fatalities.

“Enough so that it’s too common,” said Morse.

When contacted, Chief Morse said he thinks several issues contribute to Raymond’s high number of serious accidents.

So many roads converge in Windham and they create a bottleneck along Route 302.

“People’s tempers get up and then they have a stretch of road where they can open up and go 55 miles per hour,” Morse said.

In addition, there are no turning lanes in Raymond as well as “some very poor entrances and exits,” he said, all adding up to an increased risk of accident.