5 p.m.

A 9-year-old girl was killed and her 7-year-old sister remained in critical condition today with injuries sustained when a pony-drawn cart in which they were riding was struck from the rear by a pickup truck.

Police said an investigation continued, but it appeared the truck driver was blinded by the setting sun when the accident happened at about 7:50 p.m. Monday.

Oxford County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Tim Ontengco identified the 9-year-old victim as Grace Legere of Auburn. Her sister, Deanna Leger, was in critical condition at Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she was airlifted following the accident.

Sheriff Wayne Gallant said the girls were thrown from the buggy as it was being pulled along Route 117. The man driving the cart, Philip Trundy, 64, of Buckfield, suffered a broken leg.

The driver of the truck was identified as Loren Shackford, 55, of Buckfield. The truck is owned by Acadia Contractors LLC, based in Turner. Gallant said Shackford was brought to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston so he could be checked for injuries.

Shackford was also given a blood test, as is routine, and there was no evidence alcohol was involved in the accident, police said.

One of the ponies pulling the cart escaped injury but the other had to be put down at the scene.

Steve Huffman of Livermore arrived at the accident scene before emergency personnel arrived. Huffman said he tried to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on one of the girls for about five minutes, but failed to get a response.

"I immediately started checking on everything else — the horses and the other little girl and checked the man again. Then the EMT showed up," Huffman told the Sun Journal newspaper in Lewiston.

Neighbors say Trundy is a familiar sight on Roundabout Road and North Hill Road, where he drives his pony-drawn cart most days at dusk. Neighbors said the wagon has warning signs and red lights.

Police were reconstructing the accident to determine if the driver was at fault, Gallant said. The sheriff noted that the setting sun can be blinding at that time of day on Route 117.

10:06 a.m.

BUCKFIELD - One girl was killed and another injured when a pony-drawn cart in which they were riding was struck from the rear by a pickup truck, police said.

The motorist may have been blinded by the setting sun when the accident happened at about 7:50 p.m. Monday, Oxford County Sheriff Wayne Gallant said. The girls, ages 9 and 7, are believed to be sisters from Auburn, but their names were not immediately released.

The older girl died but the younger sister was taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, then flown to Maine Medical Center in Portland.

The girls were thrown from the buggy as it was being pulled along Route 117, Gallant said. The man driving the cart, Philip Trundy, 64, of Buckfield, was injured in the accident.

The pickup driver, Loren Shackford, 55, was brought to the Lewiston hospital so he could be checked for injuries. "As with any accident like this, we test blood alcohol," Gallant told the Sun Journal of Lewiston, but added there was no evidence alcohol was involved.

The first person on the scene, Steve Huffman of Livermore, said he performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the older of the two girls for about five minutes, but failed to get a response, before the arrival of emergency medical technicians.

"I immediately started checking on everything else — the horses and the other little girl and checked the man again. Then the EMT showed up," Huffman said.

Trundy is a familiar sight on Roundabout Road and North Hill Road, where he drives his pony-drawn cart most days at dusk, neighbors say. Neighbors said the wagon has warning signs and red lights.

Police were reconstructing the accident to determine if the driver was at fault, Gallant said. The sheriff noted that the setting sun can be blinding at that time of day on Route 117.