OXFORD – Police identified the men involved in a single-vehicle accident on Mechanic Falls Road late Thursday night that killed one and sent the other to the hospital via LifeFlight.

Oxford Police Chief Jonathan Tibbetts said Cedric Palmer Jr., 26, of Otisfield was killed after his 2000 Honda Accord struck a Central Maine Power utility pole on Mechanic Falls Road, Route 121.

Eric Knapik, 26, of Oxford, a passenger in the vehicle, was taken by LifeFlight to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, where he remains in serious condition.

Tibbetts said that at 10:15 p.m., Palmer Jr. was driving west on Mechanic Falls Road at a high rate of speed when he lost control of his vehicle.

His Honda slid off the right side of the roadway and struck the utility pole at a high rate of speed.

Tibbetts said that Palmer Jr. died at the scene of the accident, while Knapik was extricated from the vehicle by Oxford Fire and Rescue.

Central Maine Power was called to the scene to shut electrical power to the area as emergency crews responded and investigated the crash.

Route 121 remained closed Thursday night and early Friday morning.

Other departments that responded to the crash included Poland Fire and Rescue, Paris Fire Department and police departments from Oxford, Paris and Mechanic Falls.