WATERVILLE, Maine — Maine State Police said one person is dead after a multivehicle crash Friday evening along Interstate 95 in Waterville.
Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss said Augusta Regional Communications Center received several calls about crashes in the northbound and southbound lanes around 7:19 p.m. She said those crashes happened because of icy road conditions on the Messalonskee bridge.
As the bridge got congested in the northbound lane, a number of secondary crashes happened. There were 10 crashes in total, according to Moss.
Moss said 59-year-old Michelle Demchak of Madison reportedly got out of her car to help someone who was driving a sedan and had crashed into the bridge barrier. Bradford Enos, 39, of Atkinson was driving a pick-up truck and towing a car carrier when he entered the area and hit the sedan and Demchak, who was standing near the car.
Emergency responders pronounced Demchak dead at the scene, according to Moss. Three other people went to the hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening.
Maine State Police diverted traffic into Waterville for about 2.5 hours. Police departments from Clinton, Fairfield, and Waterville and fire departments from Waterville and Winslow responded, as well as Delta Ambulance and the Maine Warden Service. The Maine Department of Transportation coordinated the cleanup.
Moss said Maine State Police troopers and a crash reconstruction team are investigating this crash. She said preliminary information suggests imprudent speed may have been a contributing factor during bad weather.