LEWISTON – An unexpected snowstorm Friday wreaked havoc with the morning commute, and cars and trucks were still sliding off roadways hours later.

No serious injuries were reported, but the weather was a pain for police. Many officers at the local departments said they couldn’t remember a storm that resulted in so many wrecks in such a short span of time.

Between the early commuter hours and 4 p.m., more than 100 crashes had been reported in the Twin Cities alone. Of those, 88 resulted in property damage, eight led to injuries and nine saw possible injuries. Three were described as hit-and-runs.

“It was an extremely busy morning commute, to say the least,” said Lewiston deputy police Chief Michael Bussiere. “I think this storm really took people by surprise.”

And it started early.

At 6:15 a.m., Christopher R. Webster, 35, of Greene, lost control of his truck in ice and snow, skidding into a curb, mail box, tree and fence on Sabattus Street in Lewiston. Damage to his 1994 GMC was estimated at $2,000.

In Auburn, the Goff Hill section of Court Street was strewn with cars and trucks after a six-vehicle pileup at 7:15 a.m. The investigating officer said vehicles collided and then ended up on sidewalks and curbs, where they were struck by more cars and trucks.

By the time it was over, six vehicles were disabled, two people were being examined for injuries and the roadway was blocked to traffic. An estimated $12,000 in damage was caused by the pileup.

At 6:40 a.m., Valarie J. Ramsdell, 44, of New Gloucester lost control of her vehicle on northbound Washington Street in Auburn. Her Ford slid into a mailbox, bounced into a trash Dumpster and then struck an unoccupied Ford. Estimated damage in that accident topped $8,000.

The variety of crashes in numerous locations tapped police staffing and forced the closure of some roads.

“It was a big mess,” said Auburn police Lt. Tim Cougle. “We called off-duty officers to help with the load. The detectives were out handling routine calls so patrol could be freed up to respond to accidents.”

By early evening, 63 accidents had been reported in Auburn, although that number may have been deceptively low.

“There were numerous accidents where people didn’t wait around for us to get there,” the lieutenant said.

In Lewiston, police shut down part of Montello Street after a number of vehicles got stuck trying to climb the hill or slid off the roadway coming down. Sabattus, Webster, Russell, Pleasant and Cedar streets were also problems in the city.

In Auburn, crashes, rollovers and disabled vehicles were reported across a wide swath. Riverside Drive and West Auburn Road were trouble zones, with nearly a half-dozen rollovers and other crashes were reported there by the middle of the afternoon.

At 6:58 a.m., an Isuzu driven by Charlie B. Mock, 43, of Turner, slid out of control on Riverside Drive and rolled over.

At 7:43 a.m., 16-year-old Neria Lauren Douglass of Auburn lost control of the vehicle she was driving on West Auburn Road, and it, too, rolled over.

No serious injuries were reported in either crash.

Lewiston police officers were sent into Auburn to help with the collisions in that city as public works crews scrambled to get roads sanded.

Sheriff’s departments reported mostly single-vehicle accidents, with cars and trucks sliding off the roadways. Route 4 between Auburn and towns to the north was described as slick, with a handful of accidents along the entire stretch.

Roughly 4 inches of wet snow fell on the Twin Cities before the precipitation began to taper off at about 4 p.m. As crews continued to clear and sand roads, snow began falling anew. Another inch was expected overnight before temperatures dropped well below freezing.

Some children who capitalized on the fresh snow were reported by angry adults who reported being bothered by flying snowballs. Police said there were complaints but no serious incidents.

By early evening, the number of reported crashes was down to a trickle. Police officers were still trying to get caught up on paperwork from earlier wrecks.

“They’re exhausted,” said Cougle, the Auburn police lieutenant. “They’ve literally been running from accident to accident.”