PORTLAND, Maine — Three people died Wednesday night after a wrong-way driver collided with another vehicle on the Maine Turnpike.
Shortly before 10 p.m., the Augusta Regional Communications Center received several reports of a wrong-way vehicle traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of the Maine Turnpike, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss said in a release Thursday. The vehicle was a grey 2018 Honda Civic, and it was traveling at a high rate of speed, according to the release.
The Honda Civic struck a black 2013 Toyota Rav4 head-on in the area of northbound mile marker 45 in Portland. Upon impact, both vehicles became fully engulfed in flames, Moss said.
The driver and passenger in the wrong-way vehicle died, as well as the driver of the vehicle that was struck, according to Moss. All three people were dead when first responders got to the scene, the release stated.
Prior to hitting the Rav4, the wrong-way vehicle hit a silver 2020 Ford F-150 pickup truck in the area of northbound mile marker 48, according to the release. The driver of the truck was not injured and reported minor vehicle damage, Moss said.
The crash remains under investigation by Maine State Police in collaboration with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, which will identify the people who died.
The Maine Turnpike was closed north of Exit 45 for approximately two hours. The South Portland and Scarborough fire departments and the Maine Turnpike Authority assisted on scene, according to the release.