TURNER – A Livermore Falls teen was killed Monday night when his motorcycle crashed into the front of a tractor-trailer on Route 4.

Police said 19-year-old Steve Adams Jr. died instantly when his Honda slammed into the truck while he was trying to pass a row of cars about 6:45 p.m.

State police investigating the wreck said early indications were that Adams, driving south, was passing at high speed when he crashed into the front of the fully loaded semi.

“The motorcycle pretty much disintegrated,” said Turner Fire Chief Steve Fish.

Police and fire crews closed down a one-mile stretch of Route 4, between Mason Road and Route 219, as an investigation got under way.

Investigators said the driver of the J.B. Hunt rig, William Whipple Jr. of New York, was heading north and tried to brake and swerve when it was clear Adams was going to crash into him.

The cab of Whipple’s truck was torn apart by the impact. Whipple was not hurt but was emotionally rattled as he spoke to investigators.

“He’s a mess,” said state police Trooper Shawn Labrie, who was heading the investigation into the wreck.

Labrie said Adams had left his parents’ home shortly before the crash. It was not immediately known where he was going.

The collision ripped the gas tank and front tire from the motorcycle, leaving a twisted hulk of metal that landed in the grass on the side of the road. A 100-yard stretch of roadway was littered with debris from the wreck.

Police and rescue crews with flashlights searched both sides of the road. Investigators said Adams’ leg was torn off in the crash.

The stretch of Route 4 was expected to remain closed late into Monday night as state police took measurements of the crash site as part of their investigation.

It was the second fatal crash in three days on the stretch of Route 4, near Route 219. On Friday, 19-year-old Michael Calden was killed when his car collided head-on with a pickup truck. Investigators said the Jay teenager had been passing when he crashed.