CARIBOU, Maine — State and local police reported multiple accidents, including three involving tractor trailers, caused by a spring snowstorm in Aroostook County on Tuesday.
Although the first day of spring was March 20, the storm started as rain on Monday evening and then changed into snow Tuesday, according to Mark Bloomer, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
As much as 6 inches of snow had fallen on Presque Isle, St. Agatha, and Caribou as of early afternoon, causing multiple accidents in areas of The County.
Maine State Police Sgt. Joshua Haines reported in a written statement Tuesday afternoon that troopers in Aroostook had responded to three accidents involving tractor trailers and another seven crashes involving passenger vehicles.
No one was injured in any of the incidents, he said in the release, adding a warning asking people “to drive slowly on their commute home.”
In one of the accidents, Kenneth Lawrence, 42, of Baltimore, Maryland, was northbound in his 2000 Western Star tractor trailer when at about 7:50 a.m. he lost control of the rig on the icy roadway in Island Falls and it jackknifed with the trailer blocking both lanes of traffic. The interstate was shut down for more than an hour before the tractor trailer, owned by KDS Express out of Raleigh, North Carolina, could be towed.
Lawrence was wearing a seatbelt and was not injured, according to Haines.
Two other tractor trailers also jack knifed or became stuck Tuesday on Route 11 near Soucy Hill and Route 163 in Mapleton, according to Haines. He said that both roads were closed temporarily so crews with the Maine Department of Transportation could plow and apply additional ice melting substances on the roadway.
State police also responded Tuesday to seven other crashes involving passenger cars, he reported.
Local police in Presque Isle also reported being busy all day with motorists sliding off slick roadways.
Officer Kaitlyn McLaughlin said that in one accident on the Caribou Road, Bethann Rosemergy, 64, was operating her Toyota Corolla when she got caught in the slick slush on the roadway.
“It acted almost like a ramp and she went off the road,” said the officer. “There was damage to the front passenger side corner as well as the entire front bumper. I believe there will also damage underneath. The vehicle was towed due to disabling damages, but there were no injuries.”
McLaughlin said that no one was injured in any of the accidents during the morning or afternoon.
Bloomer said that Houlton picked up 3 inches of snow from the storm, as did Topsfield in Washington County.
“The storm is pretty much over now,” he said late Tuesday afternoon.
