Maine father killed driving home during Lee planned to celebrate daughter’s birthday, wife says

By JIM KEITHLEY

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    SEARSPORT, Maine (WMTW) — A Winterport man died Saturday during tropical system Lee after a tree branch and power lines crashed down on his vehicle in the eastern Maine town of Searsport.

“The wind and rain wasn’t that bad, so he didn’t have any worry about driving in it,” said Haille Phillips.

Gary Phillips, 50, had just left his home in Winterport, Saturday, Sept. 16 about 9 a.m. He was heading to the gym. Phillips used the main road from Winterport to Belfast instead of the back roads because he thought it would be safer, his wife said.

Haille Phillips said she called her husband to warn him about some power lines down near their Winterport home and told him to avoid that area.

“Then I heard him say ‘Oh, (expletive)’ and a big bang. I said – ‘Are you OK, are you OK?’ And I didn’t get a response. I hung up and immediately called 911,” Haille Phillips said.

First responders arrived to find there was a tree and power lines on Phillips’ vehicle. But rescuers had to wait for the power to be turned off to get to him, officials said. Haille Phillips said she had no idea how long they had to wait.

“I know that when he got to the hospital, they tried to work on him some more and couldn’t,” she said.

The couple had been together for six years. He was a car enthusiast and fulfilled his dream of owning a car dealership — KGP Auto Sales — named after his 5-year-old daughter Kinslee.

Phillips died on her 5th birthday. The family was supposed to celebrate later that day.

“He always dreamed of having a little girl and he got her. She thinks he hung the moon and she’s really having a hard time with this,” Haille Phillips said.

“The likelihood of something like this happening is one in a million. The likelihood of me being on the phone with him is one in 10 million and also the likelihood of it being on his daughter’s fifth birthday is one in 60 million,” she said.

Friends have launched a GoFundMe to help with expenses. As of Monday, more than 200 people had donated. They have raised more than $18,000.

Haille Phillips talked with WMTW TV on Monday via Zoom, and when asked what she was going to miss most about her husband, she said this.

“Seeing him with his daughter.”

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