One man died in a three-vehicle crash on Route 115 in Windham on Tuesday morning after a tow truck struck a Toyota Prius, police said.
The crash was reported at 6:30 a.m., when it was raining heavily in Cumberland County, said Windham police Patrol Capt. William Andrew.
Killed was Adam Clark, 34, of Augusta, who was behind the wheel of the Prius, Andrew said. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Andrew said.
The driver of the flatbed tow vehicle, Manford C. Rideout, 49, of Windham, was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
“It appears that the tow truck may have crossed the line,” Andrew said.
A third driver, David LaPlante, 59, of Waterville, who was behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer, was not injured.
Andrew said the crash is being reconstructed by Windham police investigators. It was not immediately clear what caused the wreck, but LaPlante and Rideout will undergo blood testing to determine if they were under the influence of drugs or alcohol, as is standard with all drivers involved in fatal crashes.
Andrew said it was too early to say whether distraction or any other complicating factor played a role. He was also unsure about whether the drivers were all wearing seat belts.
The Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office has been contacted, which is standard in most fatal crashes, Andrew said.
Route 115 – known locally as Tandberg Trail – was closed between Route 302 and Falmouth Road until about 1 p.m., according to emergency dispatchers.
Dispatchers said the road was closed while police investigated the crash and Central Maine Power replaced a downed utility pole.
CMP worked to restore more than 2,000 customers who were without power in Windham. CMP’s website reported no outages in Windham as of 5:12 p.m.
Rideout has a long history of driving infractions that date to 1988 and run to eight pages of violation history, according to documents provided by the Secretary of State’s Office, which oversees the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
According to the Secretary of State’s Office, Rideout’s license was most recently reinstated on Oct. 19, 2017, after he was suspended on a litany of violations: failure to pay a fine for operating after suspension; two counts of unlawful possession of scheduled drugs; one count of unlawful possession of oxycodone; two counts of failure to report an accident; eluding a police officer; two counts of operating after suspension; failure to display an inspection sticker; and failure to file insurance after an accident.
Windham police said they were still working to determine who owns the flatbed tow truck Rideout was driving, although it was unclear what prevented them from making that determination.
Staff Writer Gillian Graham contributed to this report.
Matt Byrne can be contacted at 791-6303 or at:
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