Vehicles and debris are strewn Saturday morning across the northbound lanes of Interstate 95 in West Gardiner following a crash that killed William Stevenson, 53, of Stockton Springs and sent two others to the hospital. Maine State Police photo
WEST GARDINER — The Maine State Police have identified the man killed Saturday morning in a three-vehicle crash in the northbound lanes of Interstate 95.
William Stevenson, 53, of Stockton Springs died when the BMW he was driving was hit from behind, according to police, who said Monday the crash remained under investigation.
Police said a Chevrolet Malibu driven by Jeffrey Royster, 57, of West Gardiner and a Jeep Wrangler driven by Laura Stanley, 51 of Wells were involved in the crash, but as of Monday, police had not said whether they had determined who was at fault or if charges would be filed.
Stevenson was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The passenger in his car, Tina Adams, 54, of Stockton Springs and Stanley were taken to MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta with injuries not considered life-threatening.
Police said the first crash that led to additional crashes occurred at 11:11 a.m. at mile 107 in Farmingdale, when Rahjine Waller, 23, of Roslindale, Massachusetts, was driving north in a Kia SUV and hit the back of a Mazda SUV driven by Timothy Callaghan, 35, of St. John, New Brunswick, Canada, as both were moving from the passing lane into the right lane. Both drivers were reportedly driving at high speed and suffered minor injuries.
Shannon Moss, public information officer for the Maine Department of Public Safety, said no updates were available Monday on the second crash at mile 105 northbound that occurred at 11:31 a.m.
The third crash, in which Stevenson was killed, occurred about 20 minutes later, at 11:51 a.m., near mile 104, and was apparently caused by traffic slowing due to the earlier crashes just north of there.
The fatal crash, Moss wrote in an email Monday, did not involve alcohol or drug impairment.
The northbound lanes of the Maine Turnpike were closed for about two hours. While some traffic was stopped on the turnpike, northbound traffic was diverted from the highway at Gardiner while the highway was closed.
The highway reopened at 1:48 p.m.
The West Gardiner Fire Department and staff members from the Maine Turnpike Authority assisted the state police at the scene of the crashes.
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