SCARBOROUGH, Maine — Driver fatigue and inattention contributed to a multi-vehicle crash involving a tanker truck on the Maine Turnpike on Friday, state police said Monday.
At approximately 6:04 p.m. Friday, state police received numerous reports of a significant crash southbound near mile marker 42 on the Maine Turnpike in Scarborough.
Traffic was already congested in the area due to other crashes when a 2017 U-Haul, driven by Jason McAvoy, 59, of Old Orchard Beach, collided with a tanker truck driven by Kenneth Openshaw from Massachusetts, state police said.
The force of this collision propelled the tanker forward, striking a 2023 Subaru driven by Thomas Gillis, 32, of Old Orchard Beach.
This caused a chain reaction, resulting in the Subaru rear-ending a 2005 Dodge Ram driven by Zachary Taylor, 31 of Searsmont, shutting all three lanes southbound, state police said.
When troopers arrived, they found McAvoy trapped inside the U-Haul.
Fire departments from Scarborough, Portland, and South Portland and several tow trucks responded to extract McAvoy from the vehicle.
McAvoy was flown to Maine Medical Center in Portland while other drivers received treatment at the scene. Their conditions were not known Monday.
The State Police Crash Reconstruction and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement assisted troopers at the scene.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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