Three people were killed in a wrong-way crash on the Maine Turnpike in Portland Wednesday night.
Maine State Police say the driver of a Honda Civic was heading south in the northbound lanes at a high rate of speed when the car struck two other vehicles near mile 45 in Portland just after 9:40 p.m. The driver and a passenger in the Honda Civic died.
The sole occupant of a Toyota Rav4 that the Honda Civic hit head-on also died, police said.
Police first received reports of a wrong-way vehicle headed south on the Turnpike’s northbound side near mile 48 in Portland at 9:40 p.m.
The Civic first hit a Ford F150 pickup truck that was traveling north, police said. That driver was not injured, and the vehicle sustained only minor damage.
Shortly after, the wrong-way driver hit the Rav4 near mile 45 in South Portland, engulfing both vehicles in flames. The driver of the Rav4 and the occupants of the Civic all died before emergency responders arrived at the scene.
Police have not released the names or hometowns of the wrong-way driver or the other two people who died. Their identities will be confirmed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta, police said.
The northbound lanes of the turnpike were closed for two hours after the crash.
State police continue to investigate the crash.
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