A car engulfed in flames shut down traffic on the Newport exit to I-95 on Monday, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss said.
A male driver, who police did not identify, was traveling south on I-95 at around 1:03 p.m. when he smelled gas. He took the 157 southbound exit to Newport, but the driver abandoned the car as it became engulfed in flames.
Firefighters from the Newport Fire Department extinguished the car fire. The fire, which occurred in Palmyra on the Newport line, caused the exit to be shut down for a short time, but it has since reopened.
The fire was caused by a mechanical issue, Moss said, though the driver was not able to tell police much else as to a cause. There were no injuries and the car was towed away.