DRIVER TRAPPED FOR 40 MINUTES AFTER JEEP, PLOW TRUCK COLLIDE IN AUGUSTA, MAINE. THE JEEP DRIVER WAS GOING TOO FAST FOR THE ROAD CONDITIONS.
February 5, 2015
AUGUSTA
— One person was hurt and both southbound lanes of Interstate 95 were closed
Thursday after a Jeep Cherokee hit a Department of Transportation plow truck.
Andrew
Mahaleris, 20, of Augusta, was trapped inside the Cherokee after the crash. He
was taken to MaineGeneral Medical Center with injuries described as not
life-threatening, said Maine State Police Trooper Jesse Duda.
“It
took about 40 minutes to cut him out,” Duda said.
None
of the three passengers in Mahaleris’ Jeep, all in their early 20s, were
injured.
Benjamin
Loiko, 38, of Vassalboro, who was driving the plow truck, was not hurt.
Both
southbound lanes of Interstate 95 were closed as crews tended to Mahaleris.
Traffic was diverted onto Civic Center Drive.
The
crash occurred around 11 a.m., as Loiko plowed the southbound lanes during a
snowstorm.
Police
said Loiko attempted to turn into a crossover to reverse direction. Because the
crossover is narrowed by large snowbanks, making it impossible for the large
plow trucks to turn into them at an angle, Loiko had to turn his truck into the
breakdown lane on the right and drive across both travel lanes in order to
drive straight into the crossover, police said.
Another
plow truck driver told Loiko he was clear to make the turn, Duda said, but
Mahaleris’ Jeep, which also was heading south, came up suddenly from behind.
“He
was going too fast for the conditions,” Duda said.
Mahaleris
swerved into the passing lane to avoid the plow truck behind Loiko and then
tried to swerve back into the travel lane to avoid Loiko’s truck, but the
driver’s side of the Jeep clipped the plow truck, Duda said.
The
Jeep spun to a rest a short distance down the road.
The
impact spun the plow truck, which was partially loaded with sand, into the
crossover.
The
Jeep was destroyed, Duda said. The plow truck sustained minor damage.
No
charges were filed in connection with the crash.