A Waldoboro man was killed Friday morning when the pickup truck he was driving on the Maine Turnpike in Wells slammed into the rear of a plow truck assisting with a repair from an earlier crash, Maine State Police said.

The plow truck was parked at the top of a knoll in the highway and was being used to warn drivers of emergency repairs needed after the first crash.

Michael Sands, 48, died instantly when his pickup truck hit the plow truck about 6:30 a.m., said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety. The fatal accident occurred in the northbound lanes at mile 16, less than an hour after a tractor-trailer going in the opposite direction jackknifed in the same area.

The plow truck was parked in the left lane with its signals flashing and arrow board illuminated to warn drivers that crews were making an emergency repair to a guardrail, said Rebecca Grover, a spokeswoman for the Maine Turnpike Authority.

The tractor-trailer crash pushed the median guardrail into the left northbound lane, prompting the emergency repair, she said. A second plow was pushing the guardrail back into place at the time of the fatal crash.

The driver of the plow was taken to the hospital but was later released, Grover said. The plow did not sustain heavy damage.

Northbound traffic was reduced to one lane while the scene was cleared. Police are still investigating the cause of the crash.

The earlier tractor-trailer crash in the southbound lanes caused major delays. The truck jackknifed shortly before 6 a.m. and blocked all three lanes.

Several other minor accidents were reported Friday morning between York and Saco as light snow fell in the area. The speed limit on the turnpike was reduced to 45 mph at the time.

 

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