CARIBOU, Maine — Treacherous traveling conditions led to five vehicles being involved in an accident at the intersection of Route 89 and Powers Road in Caribou Friday morning, according to Caribou Fire Captain Brian Lajoie.
“One vehicle did a 180 in the roadway,” Lajoie said, “and further up the road another vehicle tried to brake, and was rear ended when he stopped. [Then] a cement truck went off the road to avoid colliding with those two vehicles.”
Lajoie said he did not respond to the call that came in at 7:52 a.m., but that the reports from other firefighters indicated that a total of five vehicles were involved. Details about the accident and vehicles involved were not available Friday.
Members of the Caribou Fire and Ambulance service, who had an ambulance and one engine on the scene, were assisted by members of the Caribou Police Department, who provided traffic control. A tow truck also was deployed to pull vehicles out of the roadway.
The departments were on the scene for 40 minutes, at which point the roadway was cleared.
“There were no injuries,” Lajoie said. “Everybody was out of their vehicles when the crews arrived, and nobody had to be transported to the hospital. They’re very lucky.”
Caribou Police Chief Michael Gahagan said that while officers are still investigating the incident, road conditions are the likely cause. He added that a dump truck also went off the road Friday.
“We had more accidents today than the big storm yesterday,” he said. “This morning it was very slippery. The roads were cold last night and just starting to warm up around that time, and the snow began to melt and pack, creating a dangerous situation.”
