FEBRUARY 25, 2015
ETNA, MAINE
A crash Tuesday morning involving more than 40
vehicles shut down Interstate 95 for about five hours between Newport and
Bangor, state police said.
The crash — which involves cars, a school bus and a tractor
trailer in the northbound lanes — injured at least 17 people, including some in serious condition, according to
Maine State Police. Children on the bus were shaken up but not injured.
The collisions began at about 7:30 a.m. ET in heavy snow
falling near Etna, Maine, about 30 miles west of Bangor. The main crash involved more than two dozen
vehicles, and a series of other wrecks — some with two or three vehicles and
others in which vehicles slid off the road to avoid collisions — led up to the
crash site, troopers said.
Brian Graham of Newport was driving with his daughter when
he got caught up in one of the chain-reaction crashes.
"They were all pinging off of each other," he
said.
The area was under a winter storm warning until 1 p.m. with
an inch of snow recently fallen, and temperatures were in the upper teens much
of the morning, according to the National Weather Service. Five to 9 inches of
snow is expected to fall throughout the day.
Emergency personnel climbed on top of cars to reach
motorists stuck in the middle of the chaotic mass of vehicles. State police
spokesman Steve McCausland said one veteran trooper described the site as a
"giant pile of metal."
Among those stuck in the pileup were lawyers for Kyle Dube
of Orono, Maine, accused of killing Nichole Cable of Glenburn, Maine, in May
2013 after Nichole left her house, telling her mother that she was going out to
meet someone she knew from Facebook. They were speaking to Justice Ann Murray
of Penobscot County Superior Court via cellphone, and the trial was in recess
until noon.
Assistant Attorney General Donald Macomber, a prosecutor in
the case, said he was rear ended. Also caught up in the wreck and traffic
backup were a witness and a juror.
A 30-mile stretch of northbound I-95, the only interstate in
Maine, was closed as troopers, rescue workers and tow trucks clear the lanes.
At about 12:30 p.m., officials were able to reopen one lane toward Bangor.
//------------------------------------------------//
AT LEAST 75 VEHICLES
INVOLVED IN I-95 PILEUP
FEBRUARY 24, 2015
BANGOR, Maine (NEWS CENTER)
State Police said a pile-up Tuesday morning on I-95 involved
at least 75 vehicles and injured 17 people.
"I'm absolutely shocked we don't have any
fatalities," said Maine State Police Lt. Hashey.
The crash happened around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday and shutdown both
northbound lanes on the major highway. The crash involved many cars, a school
bus and a tractor trailer. None of the students in the school bus were injured.
There was about three inches of fresh snow on the ground in the Bangor area
Tuesday.
I assume road conditions caused this pile-up. The roads were
very slippery," said Lt. Hashey.
At latest count, 17 suffered injuries and all were
transported to Bangor hospitals. At least two of the injured are in serious
condition.
Lt. Hashey said 50 vehicles were towed away. The original
crash involved more than 25 vehicles, which then caused a series of other
crashes as cars tried to avoid an accident. Some of the other crashes included
two or three vehicles, with other vehicles going off the road to avoid the
collisions.
The attorneys for Kyle Dube were stuck on I-95 due to this
accident. They are speaking to judge via speakerphone. Another attorney for the
state was stuck behind the accident as well as a witness and a juror.
A gathering area has been set up at EMMC to accommodate
family and friends of patients who may arrive at the hospital.