Details Of Fatal New Gloucester Accident On Maine Turnpike

An early morning crash on the Maine Turnpike in New Glouster, involving two SUVs, one hauling a trailer, turned deadly Wednesday.

According to the Maine Department of Public Safety, the incident began just before 4:30 in the morning, when a family of six from Lewiston, travelling southbound in a 2017 GMC Acadia and towing a U-Haul trailer, experienced a trailer malfunction. At some point, they noticed that the trailer had become detached from the hitch and was being pulled by the safety chains alone, so they pulled the vehicle into the breakdown lane, but the part of the trailer remained in the roadway.

In an attempt to reattach the trailer, an adult male and an adult female got out of the GMC, along with two of the four children, ranging in age from 7 to 14 years old. That's when tragedy struck, according to State Police, and a 2015 Audi SUV heading southbound as well, ran into the back of the trailer and the GMC SUV.

"The adult female was pronounced deceased at the scene. The adult male driver suffered critical injuries and was transported to Maine Medical Center, where he later died. The two children who were outside the vehicle sustained minor injuries. The two children who remained inside the GMC also suffered minor injuries."

State police say the children were taken to the Maine Medical Center, along with the driver of the Audi, a man from Wales. He was later treated for minor injuries and released.

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Authorities are actively investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident. They will not release the identities or the relationship of anyone involved until the next of kin has been contacted.

No charges had been filed yet against any of the parties involved.

The local fire departments of Gray and Auburn, the Auburn Police Department, and the Maine Turnpike Authority helped with the incident.

Southbound traffic around mile marker 71 in New Glouster was shut down for several hours on Wednesday morning as authorities dealt with the scene.

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