AUGUSTA, Maine — The National Transportation Safety Board is faulting law enforcement planning in a report on a double fatal crash during the popular United Bikers of Maine Toy Run in September 2017.
The report, released Tuesday, said an unsafe maneuver by a motorcycle rider who cut off a pickup truck triggered the chain-reaction crash on Interstate 95 in Augusta that killed two people and injured seven others.
Jamie Gross, 58, from Belmont and Aaron Sevigny, 25, from Windsor were both riding motorcycles and were killed in the crash.
The report also cites Augusta Police Department and United Bikers for failing "to identify and mitigate the risks" of 3,000 motorcycles entering I-95 without "supplemental traffic control or state police oversight."
The Augusta Police Department released a statement on Wednesday, April 24, saying, "While the NTSB does not assign fault by their own disclaimer, the City of Augusta has the utmost respect for NTSB and their mission of improving safety when it comes to all forms of transportation in the United States. Their best practices will be applied to the City of Augusta’s operating procedures moving forward."
United Bikers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The report found that the pickup truck driver slammed on the brakes but still hit the motorcycle. The truck and six motorcycles crashed, killing two and injuring seven.
Aaron Sevigny was riding his Harley Davidson when he was hit and his father told NEWS CENTER Maine his aorta was torn. His girlfriend was riding on the back of his motorcycle and suffered a broken foot. Sevigny had a one-year-old son at the time of the accident.
