YARMOUTH, Maine — A portion of Interstate 295 near Exit 17 in Yarmouth reopened shortly before midnight Thursday after being closed for most of the day and night Wednesday due to a crash involving a tractor-trailer.
Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss said in an update Wednesday evening "unforeseen circumstances and the highly sensitive nature of the [truck's] hazardous load" has caused the highway to shut down for an undetermined length of time.
Shortly before 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Moss said Maine State Police and emergency personnel were still working to remove the trailer from I-295 northbound, with progress "slowly being made."
In an update shortly before midnight, Moss said state police and emergency personnel had successfully removed the wrecked trailer from the highway and the road had reopened.
Originally, Maine State Police said the road would reopen at 5 p.m., then the estimate was revised to 9 p.m.
At about 9:05 a.m., Maine State Police responded to a two-vehicle crash at mile marker 17 on I-295 northbound in Yarmouth, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss said in a news release.
According to Moss, the initial police investigation indicated a tractor-trailer driver who was traveling northbound in the travel lane "hit a patch of snow, lost control, struck a jersey barrier, bounced off and struck the median jersey barrier, causing the trailer to detach from the tractor, blocking both lanes of traffic."
"While this was occurring, the driver of a 2016 Honda Sonata was traveling northbound in the passing lane when the tractor, which became detached from the tractor, landed on the rear of her car, causing both the car and tractor to flip around and come to rest facing the wrong direction of travel," the release stated. "The driver of the car was able to self-extricate, and she was transported to the hospital with minor injuries."
Jerry Freeman, 55, of Lakeport, New Hampshire, who was operating the tractor-trailer, was not injured in the crash. The involved tractor-trailer is registered to Xpress Natural Gas in Montrose, Pennsylvania, Moss said.
Moss added that Freeman was hauling natural gas cylinders that would need to be offloaded.
Xpress Natural Gas employees and engineers were on the scene aiding in the recovery of the trailer, Moss said in the update Wednesday evening.
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