CARIBOU, Maine — State and local police reported multiple crashes, including three involving tractor-trailers, caused by a spring snowstorm in Aroostook County on Tuesday.
Although the first day of spring was March 20, the storm started as rain on Monday evening and then changed to snow Tuesday, according to Mark Bloomer, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
As much as 6 inches of snow had fallen on Presque Isle, St. Agatha and Caribou as of early afternoon, causing multiple accidents in areas of The County.
Maine State Police Sgt. Joshua Haines reported in a written statement Tuesday afternoon that troopers in Aroostook had responded to three accidents involving tractor-trailers and another seven crashes involving passenger vehicles.
No one was injured in any of the incidents, he said in the release, adding a warning asking people “to drive slowly on their commute home.”
In one of the accidents, Kenneth Lawrence, 42, of Baltimore, Maryland, was northbound in his 2000 Western Star tractor-trailer when at about 7:50 a.m. he lost control of the rig on the icy roadway in Island Falls and it jackknifed, with the trailer blocking both lanes of traffic. The interstate was shut down for more than an hour before the tractor-trailer, owned by KDS Express out of Raleigh, North Carolina, could be towed.
Lawrence was wearing a seat belt and was not injured, according to Haines.
Two other tractor-trailers also jackknifed or became stuck Tuesday on Route 11 near Soucy Hill and Route 163 in Mapleton, according to Haines. He said that both roads were closed temporarily so crews with the Maine Department of Transportation could plow and apply additional ice-melting substances on the roadway.
State police also responded Tuesday to seven other crashes involving passenger cars, he reported.
Local police in Presque Isle also reported being busy all day with motorists sliding off slick roadways.
Officer Kaitlyn McLaughlin said that in one accident on Caribou Road, Bethann Rosemergy, 64, was driving her Toyota Corolla when she got caught in the slick slush on the roadway.
“It acted almost like a ramp and she went off the road,” said the officer. “There was damage to the front passenger side corner as well as the entire front bumper. I believe there will also damage underneath. The vehicle was towed due to disabling damages, but there were no injuries.”
McLaughlin said that no one was injured in any of the accidents during the morning or afternoon.
In the St. John Valley, Van Buren police responded to a single-vehicle accident on U.S. Route 1 at about 9 a.m. Tuesday, according to Chief Mike Bresett.
Clayton Beaulieu, 62, of Grand Isle lost control of his sport utility vehicle, likely due to the slippery road conditions, Bresett said. The vehicle rolled over on its side and Beaulieu was transported from the scene by the Van Buren Ambulance Service with unspecified injuries, according to Bresett.
Another rollover accident was reported Monday evening in Madawaska, although details were not immediately available.
The snow on Tuesday mostly was limited to northern parts of the state, with Bloomer of the NWS reporting that southern Aroostook and part of Washington County also picked up 3 inches.
“The storm is pretty much over now,” he said late Tuesday afternoon.