HAMPDEN, Maine — A 21-year-old driver was shaken up but unhurt Friday after she crashed into a barrier on an Interstate 95 overpass in order to avoid a collision with a vehicle that was traveling the wrong way on the interstate.
Maine State Police Trooper Forrest Simpson said at the scene that an Exeter woman, believed to be 78 years old, got turned around when she left the Hampden rest area on I-95 and headed north in the southbound lane.
Scanner traffic around 11:45 a.m. reported that the woman’s silver sedan was heading into oncoming traffic.
The driver of the sedan made it about half a mile before she reached a railroad overpass next to Pine Tree Landfill, where her car met a Chevy TrailBlazer driven by the 21-year-old from Skowhegan.
The SUV driver saw the other car coming at her and swerved to avoid a head-on collision, according to Simpson. The TrailBlazer struck the guardrail on the right-hand side of the overpass before crossing both lanes of traffic and striking the concrete barrier on the left side of the overpass.
Neither driver was injured in the near miss, Simpson said, but the SUV’s front-end was badly damaged and its air bags deployed. Both drivers were shaken up. The trooper did not immediately identify either driver.
“If you’ve never met someone going the wrong way on the interstate, it’ll rattle you,” Simpson said.
The 21-year-old driver waited in the passenger seat of a police cruiser for family members to travel from Skowhegan to pick her up, Simpson said. Medical personnel checked her out at the scene.
Simpson commended the woman for swerving into the guardrail in order to avoid a serious head-on crash.
“Cars can be fixed, people can’t always be,” he said.
The driver of the sedan stopped at the scene of the crash and was picked up by family members, who drove her and her car home, according to Simpson.
“She was a little confused,” Simpson said.
No charges will be filed against the sedan’s driver, according to Simpson.
Wow…how lucky both drivers are!!!
How many of these incidents have we had just in the last month? Talk about scary!
Watched someone drive the wrong way up Stillwater in Bangor earlier this week….they found reverse pretty quick and almost got creamed by the I95 traffic coming off the ramp
OMG! I saw that too! LOL!!!
Ok so I am not crazy, lol I was about 4 cars back, I saw them start moving to the left but I let off just a little bit because I am thinking “no way are they turning into the mall with the traffic there” and expected them to catch it last second and dart back out in front of us, then I saw them just keep going straight and I am thinking “Nice way to get in the Cinema” then I saw the cars off I95 approach, then I saw the car here stop and it looked like they started rolling back as I was passing them.
So she won’t be charged, likely because she’s 78.
But if her license isn’t taken way for good, I see the State getting sued in the near future…
No charges? are you friggin kidding? It’s illegal to drive the wrong way on the interstate. How can she not at least be charged with that?
I don’t give a damn how old someone is, they ought to get a ticket for doing illegal things!
Police have a track record around here as of recent for not issuing citations for the obvious, the less paperwork they can do the better, all Police do now is find out if someone is dead, if not, they continue back to Dunkin Donuts and wait for the next cup of coffee.
Gee, hate police officers much???
I didn’t say I hated Police Officers.
You didn’t have to!
Dunkin Donuts is usually pretty decent coffee, I would wait for it to be brewed, but not too long.
I can see not pressing charges. She’s old, and I think this is a sign that she’s ready to turn in her drivers license! Her “charge” should be losing her license.
I agree, the damage is done. She’ll lose her license because of this. Kudos to 21 year old reaction time. This young lady will have a story to tell for the rest of her life.
And thank God she’ll be alive to tell it. She could’ve been paralyzed, brain damaged, or killed because someone wasn’t competent to drive today.
with no charges she will be druivin again…thats scarry
I don’t see where in the story it says she is going to lose her license for the rest of her life.
the part we will not know is her insurance rates.. I would like to know how they are affected.. cause we all know, at fault or not “you get affected one way or the other”
Who’s insurance is gonna pay for the damage? Also is this going to be black mark on the young girls record when it comes to paying for insurance?
…..perhaps reverse tire spikes could be installed and than if you leave the wrong way you would lose 4 tires and not a life….
Bravo!
Excellent suggestion!
At Least!!!
Old? Do you assume it means she wasn’t texting her BFF when she headed on the road the wrong way?
Completely disagree. She should be charged with reckless driving, etc. If a driver has too much alcohol in his blood, he gets a DUI, even if he’s an alcoholic. If a driver is driving on the wrong side of the road, she should get charged with reckless driving, even if she’s elderly. Case shut. This is age discrimination, and it’s disgusting to see over and over again.
Yes. Throw that 78 year old lady in jail. I recommend you prosecute that one in front of a jury. Good luck.
Somebody needs to.Would it be successful.Maybe not at first but it has to be tried.Look at the heat Kevorkian took for being brave.
You are kidding, right?
Not at all.If I hit someone I would absolutely expect a drug/alcohol test and charges if I was at fault.This woman gets nothing.So what if she loses her license.If the young woman was in a small car,she likely would’ve been killed.What then?
What I was asking was, You think she should have been thrown in jail as Seamus suggested? Nothing more nothing less.
I think there needs to be accountability in some form.I doubt anything will change.
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Blame the innocent victim much?How anyone can defend the perpetrator here is beyond me.Maybe next time they’ll hit you and you can ask what you could’ve done differently.
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Comparing an alcoholic driving drunk to an elderly person who drove on the wrong side of the road is like comparing apples with oranges. Not a fair comparison. The alcoholic knows better, and can get help, and can choose not to drink before driving. An elderly person might not realize they are ready to get off the road until they do something like this, or have a close call, or someone simply alerts them.
Obviously it’s not safe, and something much worse could have happened, but I’m sure she feels bad enough just knowing that. Not everything in life is so black and white.
And I do feel that EVERYONE should be tested every 5-10 years on their driving, when they renew their license. It would help prevent things like this from happening, and keep everyone sharp. The road would be a much more pleasant place to be if everyone refreshed their memory, or heck, just stuck to the rules, i.e. actually use their blinker or know what to do at a 4 way stop sign, yellow light means stop not speed up, etc.
Hey I was charged with OUI I never drove the wrong way on the highway or was involved in an accident. Yes she should loose her license and also be charged. No one is saying put her In jail for a long time that is for the court to decide. I think it would be hard to pull someone license if they did not charge her. Sorry she made a mistake why let someone use age as an excuse.
Why should she “loose” her license? Is it too tight?
You wouldn’t be so quick to give her a pass if she hurt you.There is no greater ignored threat in any state than these old coots getting in the way.GET THEM OFF THE ROAD NOW!
They are worse than drunks.At least a drunk might drive sober most of the time. Legislators are just scared of the AARP.
BS!
78 isn’t that old, I know folks in their 80’s that have never had a fender bender. This lady screwed up and she shouldn’t be treated and better or worse than she would be if she were 18, 28, 48. or 88.
She deserves a damn ticket!
If she can’t pass a test, she needs her license taken away, but if she was not paying attention or was texting or was drunk or was perusing a porn magazine, she ought to get a ticket just like anyone else would.
I agree with you. We need to ask ourselves about the purpose of fines. They serve two purposes, (1) pure punishment for our law breaking citizens, and (2) set an example so that others won’t committ the same offense. Does that really apply to an obvously disoriented elderly woman? Will other- too old to drive folks not go the wrong way because this lady got fined. C’mon.
I’m hoping they meant to say the police weren’t finished racking up the charges by press time.
The State Police won’t walk away from this situation. Can you imagine the criticism they would be under if she did this again. Ticket or not, she will not drive again. Alot of us have have had the job of forcing an elderly loved one out of the driver’s seat. It’s not easy-it’s right there with moving from your home.
Gee Ed, it’s too bad this isn’t the old west we could string her up. You must not have any older loved ones. They’re called the elderly.
You totally missed my point.
Can you read?
I not only have lots of older loved ones, I am an older loved one!
Go back and read both of my posts again, if you are able, and then come back and jump on me if you feel the need.
Take the license.
I think after the age of 70 drivers should be tested every year. This is a frequent situation with elderly drivers and it needs to stop. Obviously this woman needs her license revoked.
Wish we could do this but it’ll be fought to death by AARP and other groups claiming age discrimination. Even without licenses many still get behind the wheel much like drunk drivers. I think we’ve had 5 recent cases of elderly drivers going the wrong way on the interstate this year.
My Grandfather had his 1st drivers test at the age of 72. That was in 1977. The law was repealed because it was discriminatory to the elderly. That was the excuse at the time. I’m going on memory on this, but I remember him talking about it as his 1st drivers test.
Yes, except that would be age discrimination. Instead, EVERYONE should be re-tested every 5-10 years.
It shouldn’t be discrimination at all.Simple physiology shows your reflexes slow down, hearing and vision are far worse.60 Minutes did a show some years ago where they followed a 97(!) y/o driver with more problems than I can list and an eye patch.The examiner coached him through and let him go out to kill more people.
Unfortunately, it would still be discrimination. Even people with Down’s Syndrome can get their driver’s licenses, so long as they can pass the test.
The problem is that drivers only have to pass the test once, then they have a license to drive their entire lives.
I’ve only been a driver for a little over 5 years. My boyfriend, on the other hand, has been driving for closer to 13 years. I feel confident in my abilities to react, as the young woman in the article did, to avoid an accident. My boyfriend, however, could use a refresher.
I’m not saying, by any means, that younger drivers are better. Just that I’ve seen crummy drivers of all ages and wish there was a way for them to be removed from the road other than killing someone.
Good point.I’ve called license plates in but never knew what the outcome was or even if anything was done.
Yeah, I agree but what about the people under 70??? Like people from 18-69? I see plenty of those people who should be tested every year too!!!!!
Excuse me!!!! I’m 62 and have been driving since I was 17. I’ve probably logged more driving miles than most of you posting here since travel was a large part of my career. I have never had an accident or a ticket. How many of you can say that?? I see a lot more bad younger drivers then I do older ones!!
Good on you, Pondlady! I have been driving for nearly 60 years and have never had a ticket nor an accident. I don’t answer my phone while driving and think that texting is a total waste of time, too. Wish more younger drivers would get a clue! One, looking down into her lap while using her opposable thumbs, almost plowed into me a couple of days ago.
It’s scary to think that young driver might one day teach her kids how to drive with one eye occasionally glancing at the road and no thumbs on the wheel.
was she going the wrong way on the interstate? c’mon, we all know by now that the interstate is a one way lane. i think people should be given at least a very very basic driving and cognitive skill test every 30 years or so. and yes, my 30 year test would be coming up very shortly.
I think we can all stand to be retested periodically. The safe drivers would pass with flying colors. Maybe all our insurance rates would go down if the unsafe drivers were given sabbaticals from driving.
And that is what I meant by my post that Pondlady got so offended by.
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then you would pass the test with flying colors. a test would not to be to discriminate, but rather to make sure that the driver is still competent.
If you thought some lives may be saved, would you be amenable to having repeat driving tests, say, every 10 years as one poster suggested? I’m only 40 and I’d have no problem with that. When I get older, I’d be most happy to retest every year if necessary. I don’t WANT to be on the road if I’m not a safe driver and as much as I love driving, I bet that when the time comes that I’m unsafe, I won’t be able to recognize it or admit it myself.
I have absolutely no problem being retested. My issue was all those saying older drivers only were a problem.
And I couldn’t agree with you more. The one thing I notice. When a teenager is coming at you while texting, driving on your side of the road, they are driving about 70. At least the elderly are only coming at you at 20 MPH in many cases. They are far from the ones causing most problems on the roads. I’m all for ALL of us being retested to make sure we’re all still safe.
That was tried in another state.The old folks would’ve even gotten a discount($5 licenses)
They screamed and hollered and it never even was voted on.
Here is the thing, you can be a poor driver at any age.
If, as a society we are truly interested in road safety, we need to retest after the initial license.
Why not do it on a periodic schedule that is easy to remember: ten year anniversaries from your very first license. Thus, start at age 16? Then at age 26 you get another written, vision, and road test. Same at ages 36, 46, 56, 66, 76, 86, 96, 106, etc. You fail, you have 30 days to study up, get retrained, get new eyeglasses so you might pass again.
People can be a menace on the road at any age: drinking problems, arrogance, inexperience, simple lack of knowledge.
Expensive, you say? Factor the cost of hospital bills, rehab, police, ambulance, fire, road workers, etc. Not to mention deaths. What is THAT cost?
Within a generation or two, the culture behind the wheel would change, and people would stop thinking they could *drive just fine after a few…* and other presumptions.
If we are truly serious about road safety….
Yes, I agree. As one gets older (I’m 67) there are changes–reaction times; vision; cognitive–that simply occur in elderly folks to a greater or lesser extent. I don’t see testing as an issue of discrimination, but as one of human biology. Those whose skills are unimpaired will retest successfuly. Those who are impaired and should not drive, will be glad to know it and comforted by the knowledge that they will not be responsible for their deaths while driving or the deaths of anyone else. Small price to pay for safer roads and cutting down on sudden, brutal tragedies. Read James Agee’s “A Death in the Family.”
Scary stuff. Kudos to the 21 year old, this could have been a really bad accident.
I think we need mandatory re-testing every 10 years. You can’t really say ‘do re-testing at 60’ because it would be age discrimination. But who couldn’t use a little refreshing after so long? If we don’t implement a system for it, we will be seeing much more of this when the baby boomers reach age…
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Well, considering there’s currently nothing..anything from a written test to having to go out in the course again to be re-licensed.
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My father in law was told in Florida a few years ago that his memory loss was sufficient for him to lose his license. He was so distraught his heart gave out.
Yes, it would be very difficult to do that do your relatives! Thankfully, my own grandparents have enough sense to limit their driving. My grandfather can only drive in town now.
I would much rather have them b*tch and moan about the gov’t taking away their license. It isn’t really our place to decide to take the keys away either, we aren’t qualified, not to mention the elderly without any loved ones to do it. Hence so many wrong-way-on-the-highway articles we’ve been seeing…
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I doubt that it would be more expensive than the many head-on collisions we are likely to see as the baby boomers get older..
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The whole enchilada! Written and road tests. Pass both or turn in your license right there.
I agree with you. My dad is 84 and still drives. He’s a fantastic driver. My mother is 70 and we’re seriously considering broaching the topic of taking her license away. Quite an age difference between them. If I thought it might save some lives, I would have no object to everyone having mandatory testing every 10 years, including a road test.
Shouldn’t be able to get them until they are 21 and should lose them at 71
When you hit 71, I expect you will be singing a very different tune …
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The most perfect solution yet!100 likes if I could!
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errr…I disagree. If the young woman in this article had just gotten her license, could she have avoided an accident as well as she did?
How do you feel about re-testing, North_Woods_Girl? Say, every 5 or 10 years..Vision, written, and road test or your license will not be renewed..?
Stories like this emphasize how important it is to, as the song goes, to “keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel”. Glad the young lady wasn’t busy looking at her phone. It could have ended very differently.
For the sake of herself and everyone else on the road, the 78 year old should have her license taken away.
Maine State Police need to start charging older drivers when things happen. This is crazy!!!! How many more close calls before someone gets killed??? Oh wait that already happened up near Greenville and the DA didn’t press charges…..
I’m sorry, but over 70? Annual driving test. Cheap if not free, but mandatory.
Unfortunately, that is age discrimination. Why not test EVERYONE every 5-10 years instead?
Perhaps it is. But as a matter of public safety, I have no problem with it.
I saw this and it was a scary scene! :-(
the suv could of been a peterbuilt or a kenworth , that could of been very much worse.
What on earth is a confused elderly person doing driving? She is darned lucky she did not kill anyone. or herself.. mandatory re-testing. It will take a long time for that poor girl to get over something like that. And why no charges? You get behind the wheel, you take responsibility for your actions no matter what your age.
No charge filed? She was going the wrong way cause an accident. Could have killed people and no charges. Last time I went 20 mph the wrong way no cars comming I got a ticket. She got turned around so what she caused and accident. This is such BS.
I’ve had this happen to me. Going northbound 1 mile before Houlton exit with a carful of people headed toward me going south. Very scary; and you don’t know how the other driver is going to react to seeing you coming toward them.
this is why when u reach certain age u should not drive………..
That would be age discrimination. Instead, *everyone* should be re-tested every 5 or 10 years. PERIOD.
give up her license or charge her that would be a plea deal I would applaud..instead nah lets let her go home calm down and kill someone next time.
I never learned this when I took Driver’s Ed in high school but did learn it during a Defensive Driving class many years later. When traveling the interstate, if you’re going the right way, the yellow solid line will always be on your left and the white solid line on the right.
And aren’t there “Wrong Way” signs posted at the exits?
Seriously? I thought it was obvious that the yellow line goes on your left (ya know, like on a regular two-way road?)
And there *ARE* wrong way signs posted at the exits.. they haven’t stopped any of the wrong-way-highway drivers that we’ve heard about.
What we need is RE-TESTING.
On two way roads there are no yellow lines on the edge, just the center. The edges have white lines.
And maybe the “Wrong Way” signs were missing. But like you say, they ignore them anyway.
Subject: [bdn] Re: Driver narrowly avoids head-on collision with vehicle going wrong way on I-95
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“She was a little confused”….hilarious…maybe be a bit of an understatement, I think.
It’s equally terrifying for the driver to suddenly realize they are going the wrong way, and because of lack of a shoulder and use of guard rails up against the lane, have no place to pull over and stop.
Recent accident in Freeport, occurred on a section of I 295 with big sweeping curves, and a secure fence right up against the inside lane; so if you’re going North on one side is the fence, on the other are cars going 75 mph and restricted visibility—-what you can see on these curves going in one direction when going in the opposite direction at the equivalent of 140 mph….you’re going 70, oncoming traffic at 70…like watching bullets go by, now try and cut across incoming traffic to pull off on the inside shoulder….terrifying indeed!
Solution? isolated incidents? Restore inside lane shoulders to pull off on.
…but in winter with snow buildup on shoulders….close eyes and pray.
Kudos to the 21 y/o for paying attention and not texting! She probably texted afterward, OMG LOL #Grannie almost killed me LMAO!!!!