YORK, Maine — A crash involving multiple vehicles temporarily disrupted traffic Tuesday evening on the Maine Turnpike after a car struck a deer and became disabled in the roadway.
The crash happened shortly before 7:15 p.m. near mile marker 13 in the southbound lanes, the Maine Department of Public Safety said in a press release, when a red Mitsubishi Mirage hit a deer in the center lane and was left immobile.
The driver safely exited the vehicle and moved off the roadway, according to the release.
Moments later, a commercial truck carrying fuel came over a hill behind the crash scene but was unable to stop in time and slammed into the disabled Mitsubishi, pushing it into the median, officials said. The impact also forced the truck into a BMW crossover, sending both the truck and the BMW off the right side of the road, the release stated.
Only minor injuries were reported, and no one required hospitalization, officials said. The deer died at the scene, according to the release.
Southbound traffic was reduced to one lane for roughly an hour and 15 minutes while emergency crews cleared the scene.
The Maine State Police were assisted by the Wells Fire Department, York Police Department, Maine Turnpike Authority, National Wrecker Service, and Troop K Commercial Vehicle Enforcement.