RICHMOND — A Maine State Trooper received non-life threatening injuries when his cruiser was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer on I-295 Thursday morning.
Trooper Greg Stevens had parked his Ford Explorer in the breakdown lane with his blue lights on just north of the Richmond exit near Mile 41 when a tractor-trailer struck the SUV, according to Maine State Police spokesman Steve McCausland.
The tractor-trailer caught fire and ended up in the medium. The driver was not injured. The truck was destroyed.
Gusan Yedic, 56, of Yorktown Heights, N.Y., was summonsed for failing to move over for an emergency vehicle.
Stevens walked away from the crash and was transported to Maine Medical Center where he was treated for broken ribs, neck and leg injuries, McCausland said.
Just before the crash, Stevens had checked on another tractor-trailer stopped on the berm. Moments after he returned to his cruiser and the other truck had merged back into traffic he was hit from behind, according to McCausland.
The tractor-trailer is owned by Yamamoto Carrier Inc., of Buffalo Grove, N.Y. and it was empty at the time of the crash.
The accident closed the northbound lane of I-295, backing up traffic for several miles. One lane has reopened. The burned-out truck is expected to be removed this afternoon.
Authorities are recommending motorists to avoid the site and use Route 201 through the afternoon.
Maine’s “move-over law” says motorists should merge to the left or slow down when an emergency vehicle or wrecker is alongside a road with its lights on, the State Police spokesman said.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
