Police identify 3 people killed in wrong-way crash on Maine Turnpike

The driver and passenger in the vehicle that caused a deadly wrong-way crash on the Maine Turnpike last week have been identified as a former University of New England football player and a UNE student majoring in public health.

Brandon Crawford-Adams, 23, of Old Orchard Beach, was driving and Julia Chapdelaine, 22, of Dudley, Massachusetts, was a passenger in a 2018 Honda Civic that was traveling southbound on the northbound side of the interstate “at a high rate of speed” around 9:40 p.m. on Nov. 29 when it collided with a 2013 Toyota Rav4 driven by Alpha Anastacio, 33, of Portland, Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss said.

The vehicles burst into flames after the crash near mile marker 45 in South Portland and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner had to use DNA testing to confirm the identities. The crash remains under investigation.

Crawford-Adams is a former UNE student and played wide receiver for the university’s football team. He was listed on the team’s 2019 roster. In his team bio, it said that Crawford-Adams attended high school in Texas before enrolling at UNE, where he was majoring in pre-pharmacy. He was last enrolled at UNE in the 2022 fall semester, the school said.

Chapdelaine was currently enrolled as a student at UNE and was majoring in public health, a UNE spokesperson said.

“The UNE community is mourning their deaths, and our heartfelt condolences go out to Julia and Brandon’s families and loved ones, as well as the many people who knew and loved them at UNE,” spokesperson Sarah Delage said in an email.

Delage said the university has made resources available to any student who needs support.

Maine State Police said that Crawford-Adams first hit a pickup truck near mile marker 48 but caused little damage and continued moving south. Soon after, he crashed head-on into the Rav4 driven by Anastacio.

All three individuals were dead when emergency responders arrived at the crash site, police said. The turnpike was closed north of Exit 45 for about two hours.