Three killed when cars burst into flames in wrong-way crash on Maine turnpike, cops say
A wrong-way fiery crash on a turnpike in Maine killed three people, police said.
A driver sped down the wrong way on the Maine Turnpike on Wednesday, Nov. 29, causing multiple people to report the vehicle to law enforcement, according to a Nov. 30 Maine State Police news release.
The vehicle, a 2018 Honda Civic, was traveling in the northbound lane in Portland at about 9:40 p.m., police said.
The Honda initially hit a 2020 Ford F-150 pickup truck as it drove up the wrong way on the turnpike, according to police. While the pickup truck did have “minor vehicle damage,” police said, its driver was not injured in the collision.
After striking the pickup truck, the Honda rammed head-on into a 2013 Toyota Rav4, which only had a driver inside, police said.
Both cars immediately became “fully engulfed” in fire, according to police. The Rav4’s driver, as well as the Honda’s driver and another passenger, were found dead when responders arrived to the scene of the crash.
The turnpike was closed for approximately two hours before reopening again, police said.
The crash is under investigation by Maine State Police as of Dec. 1, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss told McClatchy News.
The department is also awaiting identification from the medical examiner’s office for the three people were killed in the crash, Moss said, which may take several days.
