STANDISH, Maine — Police have confirmed that a 9-year-old girl died after severe weather in Standish caused a tree to fall on the car she was in on Thursday afternoon.
Captain Donald Foss of the Cumberland County Sherriff's Office confirmed the incident happened near the Sebago Lake Family Campground in Standish.
Crews were called to the scene around 4:25 in the afternoon. They had trouble getting there because many roads in the area were closed in both directions due to the storm. They eventually stopped one-tenth of a mile away from the campground and walked to the scene on foot. Once there, crews had to clear trees and other debris to get to the girl in the car.
The girl was pronounced dead at the scene. Her name has not been released but Foss says she was from the town of Poland. No other injuries were reported.
Other sites within the campground and homes in the surrounding area also sustained heavy damage, with dozens of trees uprooted or broken in half. Some of these trees were 24 to 30 inches in diameter, officials said. Many boats, homes, vehicles, and RV-style campers were damaged, but no other significant injuries were reported, according to Foss.
"It's caused a lot of damage to houses and infrastructure," Sebago Fire Chief Philip Strike told NEWS CENTER Maine on Friday. "Power is also out at this present time. It'll be out for an extended period of time due to the infrastructure damage."
"[The storm] went into the neighborhood, took our power lines down, and I mean it was total chaos everywhere," neighbor Philip Defiore said Friday morning. "Branches [and] leaves were all over the place."
RSU 16 Superintendent Ken Healey and Assistant Superintendent Amy Hediger posted a letter to families in the school district Friday, saying the girl who died "will always be remembered for her smile and kindness to others." The girl was a student at Poland Community School, according to the letter.
"The Poland Community School will have counselors available Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (the 25th, 26th and 27th), from 9am to 12pm for those in the RSU 16 family who need assistance during this very difficult time," Healey and Hediger said in the letter.
The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office, Standish Fire and Rescue, Sebago Fire and Rescue, the Maine Warden Service, and the Baldwin Fire Department all responded to the scene.