Driver survives rollover on I-95
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
A local woman believes in heavenly interventions, following a rollover on I-95 last week that destroyed her 1998 Volvo S70 but left her with only minor injuries.
Photo courtesy of Malissa Boynton
TOTAL LOSS — Malissa Boynton’s Volvo is a total loss following a rollover last week on I-95. Boynton, of Mars Hill, suffered only minor injuries in the accident that occurred when she tried to avoid hitting a deer.
Malissa Boynton was on a business trip June 4 when the accident occurred.
“I was traveling south on 95 about two miles south of Medway a little before 7 a.m. on June 4. I was passing a Ford F350 when a deer ran out in front of me,” said Boynton, owner of The Rusty Crab.
What happened next is a bit of a blur she said.
“I attempted to slow down enough to tuck back behind the truck but didn’t have enough time. The last thing I remember was looking to my right and seeing the truck, then thinking ‘please help me here Dad.’ Then it was bang, crash, and I was at the bottom of the ditch,” said Boynton.
Boynton said she has fragmented memories of what happened.
“I don’t know if I hit my head right off because it is weird — I can kind of remember rolling, but I do feel like my Dad (Rock Boynton, who passed away May 9, 2011) grabbed ahold of me and let me go when the car stopped rolling,” she said.
She said she went back to the scene later and can’t believe she walked away with only minor injuries.
“I could tell I rolled about six times, and yes, I luckily had my seatbelt on. Somehow I walked away with only a couple of scratches and bruises. My car, on the other hand, did not but protected me well,” said Boynton, noting the trooper from the Maine State Police who investigated the accident told her he couldn’t believe, given the extent of damage to her car, that she walked away relatively unscathed.
Boynton said she has already determined what brand of vehicle she’ll be looking for, now that she’s back in the market for a new car, since her car was totaled in the crash.
“I am a Volvo driver for life now,” she said.
She also said she’s gained an even stronger belief that our loved ones watch over us long after they’re gone.
“I believe in angels. I still can’t believe I survived with only a scratch on my head and arm and some bruises. It really was a miracle — one my Dad helped see me through,” said Boynton.
