The man who died in a fiery crash on Interstate 95 in Hampden early Tuesday evening has been identified.
Mark Aubut, 53, of Bath was driving his 2003 GMC Yukon southbound on I-95, near mile marker 176, about 5:20 p.m. when his SUV left the highway, struck a tree and burst into flames, according to Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
By 7:20 p.m., the fire was extinguished, the car was towed from the scene and traffic returned to normal conditions. Tire tracks were left in the grass to the side of the highway, and the trees in that area were all heavily burnt.
McCausland said Wednesday morning that speed was not a factor and that it’s unclear what caused the crash.
The crash, which happened about 4 miles south of the Coldbrook Road exit serving Hermon and Hampden, and 2 miles north of exit 174 for Route 69 in Newburgh, remains under investigation.
State troopers were assisted at the crash site by Penobscot County sheriff’s deputies, Hampden police, the Bangor and Hampden fire departments, and Northern Light ambulance, McCausland said.
The fatal crash came less than a month after the April 3 death of Maine State Police Detective Ben Campbell on the same stretch of I-95 south. Campbell was killed in a freak accident at mile marker 179 while helping the driver of a disabled vehicle. He was struck by a wheel that separated from a logging truck trailer.