Me. Firefighter-Paramedic Killed in Car Wreck

Maine State Police troopers responded around 1 a.m. to a collision on Route 202 after Lt. Harry Weymouth, 46, crossed the centerline in his Chevrolet Cobalt and struck an oncoming Ford Fusion, according to Stephen McCausland of the Maine State Police.

Weymouth was brought to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where he died from his injuries at around 4 a.m., McCausland said.

It appears Weymouth fell asleep while driving his car, McCausland said. He was likely driving home—but not from an on-duty shift at the fire department—when he crashed, he said. Speed and alcohol are not believed to be factors in the crash.

The driver of the Ford Fusion, 45-year-old Zahra Guedi of Portland, and her passenger, who police did not identify, were also hospitalized with injuries not considered life-threatening.

Weymouth had been a South Portland firefighter for 21 years. He also served as a volunteer firefighter in Buxton and was a registered nurse at South Maine Health Care at the Goodall Campus in Sandford, McCausland said.

“He was an excellent paramedic,” said South Portland Fire Chief James Wilson at a news conference held late Thursday morning and broadcast on Facebook by CBS 13. “He was a mentor to a number of our employees. I know I will miss him. He will be very missed by all of us here at the South Portland Fire Department.”

Nathan Schools, the fire chief in Buxton, said Weymouth was the chief of a fire house in the town before it became a municipal department.

“He was the quiet leader … who volunteered for his town,” Schools told reporters. “He was the member who showed up when you needed him and was able to do everything that was asked of him and more. It really leaves a void for the town, the family and the fire service.”

South Portland Police Chief Ed Googins said Weymouth was one of the city’s first paramedics to join the Special Weapons And Tactics team, which in recent years began incorporating a “tactical paramedics” team in its training.

Weymouth is the second Maine firefighter killed in a crash in just over a month. In late June, David Mains, a captain in the Raymond fire department, died in a motorcycle collision on a Massachusetts highway.

Weymouth leaves behind a wife and three children, according to Wilson.

Firefighters from Hollis and Buxton also responded to the crash scene.

Hollis is a small York County town about 20 miles west of Portland and South Portland.