ALTON, Maine — A Lincoln woman was killed early Friday morning when her vehicle hit a patch of black ice on Interstate 95 and crashed into a tree, according to Maine State Police.
Jesi Rai Dawn Burleigh, 24, lost control on the Birch Stream overpass just after 5:30 a.m., state police Trooper Darren Vittum said.
Burleigh’s 2002 Suzuki burst into flames and rolled over after striking the tree, according to Vittum.
A passenger in the vehicle, Anthony Dupuis, 38, of Greenbush, was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor for treatment of for life-threatening injuries, Vittum said. Dupuis is expected to survive, according to the trooper.
Burleigh was pronounced dead at the scene, Vittum said. The pair were heading southbound, just north of the Alton Bog on a foggy morning. Neither were wearing seat belts, Vittum said.
Speed and road conditions were factors in the crash, Vittum said. Fog and black ice also contributed to a fatal crash in Hermon late Thursday night.
Vittum is advising drivers to slow down and be aware of black ice, especially on bridges, which tend to freeze over quickly.
God bless these folks. With all of the anticipated traffic coming into Bangor very early this morning from at least a dozen different directions for the Black Friday sales I hope the DOT did everything they could to make these roads as safe as possible. This a unique traffic day. 350,000 people shop in Bangor. Many of these shoppers left home late Thanksgiving night not knowing that many roads would turn treacherous.
Even if they did not, don’t blame the DOT
Do you think the Sate Police radioed in the black ice conditions? Everyone involved had to know that thousands of shoppers were heading to Bangor for the sales. That didn’t warrant some salt and sand? I have no idea what the DOT did or did not do, I’m just wondering what efforts were made.
She lost it on a bridge that passed over water. Regardless of how much brine you lay down, those have a knack for icing over way faster than the rest of the road.
Yes. Bridges are influenced by air temperature which may be colder than the rest of the road. We’ve been warned of this surprise hazard for years.
They needed to be sanded
People need to slow down
That’s true, however- very often when bad drivers make a mistake they take out good drivers with them and they could be members of my family or yours. You can’t go slow enough on black ice. You lose total control.
I like your thinking sir.
How true, westshores-you can’t go slow enough. Years ago enroute to work w/a friend, we were going under 25mph when the car hit some ice hidden under a light snow. My head went through her windshield. Being Irish, there was no damage done to my head, but it sure showed me that even low speeds don’t mean one will escape injury.
AMEN
I was heading north bound and saw this accident. The 45 mph signs were flashing from South of Bangor through Bangor but the one just beyond Stillwater Orono exit was not flashing. Why is that? Then you also have the fact that trucks were out sanding around Bangor/Brewer why wasn’t DOT out taking care of the interstate? I never saw one DOT truck on the interstate and it was some slippery in spots.
Isn’t the job of the DOT to make sure the interstate is safe. Oh never mind, Lepage wants to save money. Tell this to the 2 and 4 year old, that will grow up without their mother.
No that is not what I said. It is also the responsibility of the driver to pay attention to the road conditions and drive appropriately! And I’m pretty sure that you would complain if the DOT was paid OT to be out on a holiday!
You are a real person.Thank you again.
How about personal responsibility?
Isn’t it up to the driver of the vehicle to make sure they are driving appropriately for the road conditions? If the DOT hasn’t made it to the road I am on, I SLOW DOWN.
DUH.
At 3:30 this morning the road from Brewer to Ellsworth was sanded, why wasn’t the interstate sanded at 5:30? Good for you Den Den, I hope the next time I’m out in a snow storm I meet you driving. It will be the car I meet that has Mr. Perfect behind the wheel.
DUH
DRIVERS should take responsibilty. DAHHHHHHHHHHH
you will find out some day that no matter how safe you are things can still happen you have no controle over mother natcher or other drivers
I’m far more scared of other drivers than mother nature, and we have no control over either….
Being safe gives you alot more chance is all i will say
You are so very correct.Thank you.
Russians live like they are bulletproof.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/oFkw5JFOmHk
How do you blame DOT in the summer when people die.HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
I see you worked for the DOT for 25 years, How many shovels handles did you break while leaning on them. I understand why you put all the blame on the driver, it was her fault that the interstate was one of the last roads treated in Maine. It must have been dangerous watching someone else work while you dodged passing traffic during the summer months.
It is people like you that get in accidents,because they dont have the sense to think. Alot of folks on here have seen that in your responses.
YOU AND ALOT OF FOLKS HAVE SEEN WHAT? I’m 65, never had has much as a dent on any of my vehicles, Can you say the same goldwing?
We where returning home one evening.Driving down Union street in the middle lane.A woman pulled out of wendys,almost hit the pickup truck to our right on the outside lane.Then was smak dab in front of us.I did all i could do to not hit her.My wife was injured badly.The other driver was ok.But i suppose thinking the way most on here do.It was my fault she pulled out in front of us.Thats all I will say.
They do their best, but when people don’t slow the heck down and don’t wear seatbelts why is it the DOT’s fault?
If doing their best is not treating the interstate last night, we are in trouble. I do realize the drivers have to be called out to sand, so maybe someone higher up than the drivers should have called them out last night.
Thank you very much sir.I worked for the DOT for 25 years and we always was blamed.I ask people how is DOT to blame all summer long. End of discussion.
that picture of the car is pretty graphic isnt it
Maybe if people see that, they might slow down!
the ones that see the picture and slow down,are the ones that would be driving more cautiously anyway..the ones that don’t slow down..the picture means nothing to them
WOW you are a smart person.You are so correct.
true but the decided to raise the speed limit north of old town to i think 75 or 80 to the canadian boarder but it was safer and less fatalities when the speed limit was 55
Just maybe if people see this it’ll make them slow down :-/
Russians live like they are bulletproof.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/oFkw5JFOmHk
Awful! This is one that seatbelt use was probably irrelevant but it was when I lost my sister in a single car crash (35 years ago today). :(
what a terrible thing,, slow down! do the driver training coarse folks even teach proper? sure seems like a lot of young folks get a wake up call to late.
Or maybe instead of placing blame on anyone, you could just leave your negative comments to yourself and instead offer condolences to those who lost a loved one. People make mistakes everyday. Sometimes the consequences are tragic. This is not a case of “who didn’t sand the roads” or “she was going to fast” but simply a case where someone is now without her.
Obviously it is tragic and horrible, but yet if people are made aware that this is what speed does/can do, it might help prevent someone else’s loved one ending up in a similar situation. Or we can hope, anyway.
Really? Do you honestly think that people are dumb enough to NOT know what speed can do? They know, but they think it won’t happen to them and when it does, is it any less horrible because they should’ve known?
“Do you honestly think that people are dumb enough to NOT know what speed can do?”
When you see several crashes every week due to people driving too fast for the road conditions the thought comes to mind.
Well said Devon.
right? like her babies :( people are so insensitive sometimes and it is so ignorant.
I agree with your comment here but honestly you can’t do anything about it people are going to talk wheather it be on here or elsewhere and they like to assume things as well but I suggest maybe you dont read the comments if you dont want to hear ones opinions. Just sayin
well said…I am deeply saddened for the families who are our friends that are involved in this almost surreal tragic turn of events.I say almost surreal from a place of shock and wanting not to believe that people we care about are suffering pain right now as I am writing this.We should be thinking about them,their parents,their siblings,their small children we should be using discression with our freedom of speech and think on the things above,lovely kind,good,things that build up and edify and comfort and cover and protect I love them and I want to think on that right now I simply as a matter of fact love this family and their friends very much and my heart and prayers go out to each and every one of them and I cherish how ever many minutes and memories I have ever had the honor to have been given with them..and I choose to think on those things their laughter,their smiles, their beauty, and the wonder of it all…~Nancy and Chris Stevens
This really is so sad, and I feel for the families, but I have to say that it makes me angry that they weren’t wearing their seat belts. No guarantee that she would have survived the crash if she were, but her chances would have been improved. Please people, always wear your seat belt. :(
they said the vehicle caught on fire so i dont think seat belts would have mattered, jus my guess??
No seatbelts. Always wear your seatbelt. But by the looks of the car seatbelts would not have helped. Maybe driving too fast? Very sad.
you know they raised the speed limit north of old town to 75 . with higher speeds you are going to get more fatalities. there were less fatalities when the speed limit was 55
i think raising the speed limit was stupid
Lori is that your driving like a bat out of @#$$, honking your horn at everyone driving 65?
The numbers indicate that’s not so. http://www.uctc.net/papers/069.pdf
WAYYYY too fast….
It sure seems like there have been a large amount of Deaths on Maine’s Highways the season and we haven’t even had a real snowstorm yet. I’m not saying that everyone doesn’t need to take responsibilty to slow down and watch out for black ice this time of the year. However, over the years we’ve grown accustom to having our roads plowed and salted before we leave for work, so it doesn’t cross our minds it could be slippery out there. DOT use to patrol the roads at night and call out crews if the roads were slippery, have they stopped this practice? Maybe we should be asking the upper management of DOT why the roads aren’t salted when we need them to be before any more deaths occur?
I wonder how many hundred cars made it ok on the some road??????????
There have been an unusually high amount of fatalities already. Sure wish someone would do an outline of how to prepare for skidding/black ice, etc.
At the age of 67, I’m just learning that the “ambient” temperature is absolutely no indication of the actual road temperature.
Studded tires.. should be required.
Not everyone can afford them and even if you run them you can still lose control if you are driving to fast for conditions.
Let’s see… cable TV for 4 months or a set of studded tires? Entertainment or life?
You do realize many people don’t have cable tv or studded tires right?
Yeah, I realize. I find it hard to believe that someone who can afford a car can’t find the money for studded tires. Disclaimer: I don’t work for a tire store or manufacturer.
I can’t, I’ve got a family to support, bills to pay, & childcare to pay each week… So i tell my wife to take it slow and be cautious, we have good tires but cant afford a winter & summer set
you sound like a guy that makes 6 figures a year or you still live with mom n dad
I don’t have $500 to spend on something that will be used just a few miles per week for four or five months of the year.
get off your high horse and stop looking down at others that have less $$$ than you. believe it or not there are some people in this country that have kids THEY pay for and raise without stealing taxpayers $$$ to do so. some of us have something called honor and work for a living and can not afford a set of $600+ tires to drive on for 4-5 months only… what do you think a 2002 suzuki is worth? $1500 at most…get over yourself…
Keep in mind, Mike, that when one does use studded tires (as I do), state law requires that all 4 must be studded. Gets pretty pricey, even for those without kids to support.
Not so much. Studded tires are very handy in certain winter conditions, but black ice on an otherwise clear road is not one of them. Packed snow is more their thing. Like four-wheel drive, the only thing studded tires will give you on hard, smooth ice is a false sense of security.
I often travel this section of I95 to work but rarely in the winter, especially when I suspect black ice. Now that the speed limit is 75 I take ‘the back roads’ more. With an SUV and 4WD it’s safer and there is less pressure to drive fast. I cruise in the summer but crawl in the winter. Black ice just freaks me out and I am super cautious. It can happen to anybody. Drive slow, take your foot off the gas, avoid breaking and a standard helps (better to downshift than apply breaks).. Be careful out there!.
safer wheb speed limit was 55
To my knowledge it was never 55, it was 65
The national speed limit on all Interstates, including I-95 in Maine, was 55 MPH for a decade and a half or thereabouts around 30 years ago – I forget the exact dates. It was mainly imposed as an attempted economic control during the oil embargo crises of the early ’70s, but was pitched to the public as a safety measure (who remembers the “55 Saves Lives” ad campaign?). In practice, the statistics didn’t bear out either claim, and the whole thing was dropped in the late ’80s. The federal limit was scrapped and the states were left to determine the speed limits on their Interstates themselves. Most (including Maine) raised it to 65 outside of cities within a few years.
More germane to the article at hand, my sympathies to those involved in this accident. Having crashed in that general area myself, a couple of years ago – luckily less catastrophically, but only with the kind assistance of some deep snow off the side of the road – I can easily see how a person could get behind the eight-ball along there. Particularly if it wasn’t apparent that the conditions were right for icing, which is, after all, why they call it black ice.
I know what black ice is, as I’ve had my fair share of meetings with it as I drive truck and deal with the road conditions on a daily basis, the worse stretch of road for black ice is the Alton bog to Hogan Rd & the stretch from 180-156. Mile I hate traveling that stretch of rd
I’m only 26 som im not nearly old enough to know about the 55 speed limit my friend, I was just saying I didn’t know there was ever a 55 speed limit, no need for the attack
Whoa, easy there, champ. That’s not an attack, it’s an explanation.
When first built up to Houlton, I95was 65, increased to 70 for a short period until Pres Carter dropped the whole Country to 55.
Are you too young to remember hearing this ditty?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6McutncHWA
HECK NO! Thats a classic tune & Good tune for sure yup, but I’ve never did any research to find out what it was about good to know, and Reagan was president when I was born
Ironically, that’s what I call ‘a floor board tune’. Crank it up and mash it! (I’m also am old enough to have delivered papers on foot through 95’s construction zone!)
Nixon, actually. I looked it up: the so-called “National Maximum Speed Law” was part of the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act of 1974. Proposed by and enacted under Nixon; raised to 65 MPH in 1987 under Reagan; abolished altogether (in favor of leaving it entirely up to the states) in 1995 under Clinton. Nothing to do with Carter at any stage, fashionable though (for some strange reason) it still remains to blame him for anything annoying that happened anytime in the 1970s. :)
I’m sure you’re right. I was relying on my hazy memory of having lived through the minutia of those 3-4 years: Watergate, early resignation followed by the completely forgettable Ford (“ow my head, but your pardoned”). Carter is usually remembered (by me at least) as being wrongly blamed for the mess in the desert during the Iran rescue attempt. It was truly a whirlwind for a young adult (?) such as I was. :)
I love how everyone blames the DOT for every accident. Ive been a wrecker driver for 6 years and im on the road in every condition. These guys are doing the best they can. There is alot of road to cover. They cant be everywhere at the moment they are needed. I was the driver that cleaned up this accident seen today. Speed was absolutley any issue here!!!!!!! An seatbelts would have done nothing good here. If anything it would have prevented a passer by from pull anthony from the suv. Please people think before u bash. There family will be reading this and the last thing they need is to read this bullshit. C’mon people please smartin up and have some respect!!!!!!!
couldnt have said it any better myself!!!!
My brother was the man thrown from the car, and let me say this, I do not and never will advocate not wearing your seatbelt, but the honest truth is, after seeing the wreckage, how the entire passenger compartment was compressed and torn to shreds, if he had been wearing his belt he’d have been trapped in that mass of torn steel and glass and he would have no doubt suffered the same fate as the driver.
U sure he was thrown out?
Mike, i am very happy that your brother is here to tell that very story. It’s so sad and scarey what can happen in an auto accident. I have argued that we as adults should be able to choose whether to wear a seatbelt or not. Your brother is proof positive that not wearing one this time probably saved his life.
You can play Russian roulette with all the chambers loaded and get lucky with a misfire. That is exactly what you’re doing if you think driving without a seat belt is more likely to save your life in a motor vehicle wreck.
That is just plain stupid.
You are an honest man.
i noticed the clouds are moving iin i havent seen one town truck treating the roads as the temps drop back down to near freezing
Since I don’t see it mentioned here, the proper way to deal with black ice is stay off the brakes and slowly ease off the gas pedal. Don’t panic. Don’t make any quick moves. You should be able to detect what grip you have left and use it to slow the vehicle.
I have seen many ignorant and stuipd comments on here, this girl that died was not selfish or uncaring! I knew her, she was like a sister to me! This could have easily happened to me or many others, the speed limit was increased to 75mph which means MOST people do that or higher, and like alot of younger people not all of us listen or watch the morning news, when I went to bed the night before and woke up that morning I had no idea the roads could be slippery, that could have easliy been me. Instead of pointing fingers and blaming her or DOT maybe you should show some respect to her, her family, her friends, and her two young boys that will never see her again! It was an accident, do you think if she knew the about the black ice she would really jeopardize her life like that and take the chance of not coming home to her sons? So please just think about what your writing on here and how it would affect you to see some of these things people are saying on here about a loved one, we just lost someone and family and friends are going to see this, have some respect please.
I agree it could have happened to any of us, including this 67 year old. Nobody would expect to have black ice anywhere with these warm temperatures. Just seeing that photo broke my heart and now to think of all the people who have lost her is beyond sad. Please know that some of us care very much and we are very sorry for this horrendous loss you are experiencing.
Sorry for your loss
laci you are 100% right, i went to work around 7, and you wouldnt have known the roads were slick unless you watched the news, i saw the accident, and i am so sorry for your loss! THE ONE THING I HATE ABOUT THIS PAGE IS WHEN PEOPLE LOSS LOVED ONES AND “STUPID” PEOPLE MAKE THERE TASTLESS, RUDE AND KNOW IT ALL COMMENTS!!! no matter how this happen there was one life taken and another with severe injuries!!! it very well could have been any of us!!!!
This is my little cousin and I just don’t agree with what you people are saying. Accidents happen no matter what any one does. Would still write this if it was your kid or family member think of that. All I got to say love and miss you kiddo.
This was compiled by a Russian, Russians live like they are bulletproof.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/oFkw5JFOmHk
I can not believe what I am reading for comments, all comments should be saying my prayers are with the family and if you do not pray you should be posting Im thinking of her family. I do agree with the speed limit being too high, but saying she should have been wearing a seat belt, well its too late to be saying something like that. My prayers go out to this family, its so sad.. And for your insensitive people, I dont understand it, I really dont why someone would even bring up anything except expressions of saddness for this family.. Our wold is messed up!!! Sorry to the family…
I wish people would think before making comments because as i understand this young lady has two young children that will growup wondering about their mother and if they serch her name on the internet they are going to find all these comments. Please if you cannot be respectful of her children and family then don’t post anything. Hell half of you caan’t even use your real names. My heart goes out to this family