A Woolwich man died Friday evening in a car accident on Route 27 in Pittston when his car flipped onto its roof and became submerged in an ice-covered pond on Cold Spring Hill.

Edward MacDonald, 67, was on his way home from work at the Maine Municipal Association in Augusta when his 2003 Jeep Cherokee slid off the road on the slick hill.  According to Maine State Police, the vehicle flipped over after going through a ditch, eventually coming to rest on its roof on a small retention pond. The weight of the car cracked the ice; the car filled with water. The cause of death is still to be determined by an autopsy, but it appeared that MacDonald drowned in the vehicle.

According to Maine State Trooper Klayton Peckham in a press release, slick road conditions after Friday’s snowfall were likely a factor in the accident. He said that it did not appear that speed or alcohol or any other issue was involved. MacDonald was the only person in the vehicle, and had been wearing his seat belt.

The accident near 656 Wiscasset Road was reported just after 7 p.m. 

The Jeep Cherokee was destroyed.

In addition to Maine State Police, the Pittston Fire Department also responded. The crew attempted a rescue in the 6 to 10-foot-deep pond, but the effort became too dangerous due to ice cracking beneath them. Gardiner Fire Department responded as well, bringing cold water rescue suits, but the vehicle was too unstable for the first responders to work near it, according to Pittston Fire Chief Jason Farris.

By the time the Jeep could be stabilized enough to look into the passenger compartment, MacDonald was dead, Farris said.

The vehicle was removed by a tow truck. MacDonald’s body was taken to a funeral home in Augusta. An autopsy was planned at the Chief Medical Examiner’s office.

Route 27 was closed for a time during the recovery process, and traffic was diverted.  The road reopened about an hour and a half after the accident was reported.