Westford man injured in crash on Maine highway, state police say woman stopped to take pictures

PORTLAND, Maine — State Police are warning the public about the dangers of stopping and walking along the highway to photograph a crash scene after a woman did that following a rollover crash on Saturday.

The woman stopped her vehicle in the median of Interstate 295 northbound to take photographs of a rollover crash scene in Portland that injured a 22-year-old Massachusetts man on Saturday, state police said.

Eli Solodiuk of Westford, Massachusetts was taken to Maine Medical Center with minor injuries following the rollover crash on Saturday afternoon, state police said. He was able to get out of the vehicle following the crash.

At approximately 2:27 p.m. Saturday, state police responded to the area of mile marker 4 on I-295 northbound in Portland for a report of a single-vehicle rollover crash.

While a trooper was responding to the crash, trying to get the road cleared to get traffic moving again and tow the vehicle, he saw a woman driving southbound stopped her vehicle in the median and ran down to the crash to take pictures, state police said.

“The Trooper informed her she was trespassing and needed to leave. The woman was extremely argumentative and told the Trooper she was not doing anything illegal,” state police said in a statement on Sunday. “The Maine State Police would like to remind the public that stopping and getting out on the Interstate is not only a safety issue but it is illegal. Had the Trooper been able to get the women’s information and/or registration she would have been charged with several violations to include Obstructing Government Administration, Obstructing Public Ways, Criminal Trespass, and Pedestrian on a Divided Highway.”

An initial crash investigation found that Solodiuk, who was driving a 2017 GMC Sierra, lost control of his vehicle, struck a guardrail and went across both lanes of traffic before his vehicle rolled over, state police said.

“The investigation shows he was going too fast for road conditions on partially bald tires,” state police said.

The travel lane was shut down for approximately 50 minutes while the vehicle was removed.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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