Posted in: News Posted: February 25, 2015

Maine: 14 People Injured In 40-Vehicle-Pileup On Snow Affected Stretch Of Interstate 95

A massive 40-vehicle-pileup on a snowy stretch of Interstate 95 has left at least 14 people injured, reports USA Today. According to the report, the 40-vehicle-pileup happened in a location known as Etna, near Bangor, Maine at around 7:30 a.m. local time early Wednesday morning. While there have been no fatalities in the incident, the condition of at least two of the injured individuals is reported to be serious. Most of the injured have been transported to the nearby Eastern Maine Medical Center where they are being treated for their injuries. The hospital has confirmed that it has received 11 patients in its emergency department as of 10 a.m.

The vehicles involved in the 40-vehicle-pileup reportedly include several cars, a tractor trailer and a school bus. It is unclear whether the school bus had children inside it when the pileup occurred. Initial reports however say that there were only three passengers inside the school bus, and all of them escaped unhurt.
Meanwhile, local authorities shut down that stretch of Interstate 95. The section is likely to be partially opened for traffic in the next few hours, reports CBS Boston. In the meantime, authorities have asked people to take exits at Etna and Newport respectively to avoid being stuck.
According to state police spokesman Steve McCausland, several emergency personnel had to climb atop a mass of twisted metal in order to rescue people inside the vehicles. He described the scene at the site of the 40-vehicle-pileup to be chaotic. One veteran trooper from the state reportedly described the accident site as a “giant pile of metal.” Meanwhile, photos showing the horrific crash have been shared many times over on social media websites like Facebook and Twitter.
While authorities determine the cause of this 40-vehicle-pileup, the primary suspect in the case has already made its presence evident. The weather conditions in Maine remains snowy with forecasters expecting at least five to nine inches of snow in the area today.
This latest 40-vehicle-pileup comes just a few weeks after several other similar incidents were reported from across the U.S. this winter. In January, the Inquisitr had reported about a 150-vehicle-pileup on the Interstate 94, which was preceded by another 18-vehicle-pileup that claimed the lives of three people.
[Image Via Maine State Police and Emergency Management]

Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/1873896/40-vehicle-pileup-interstate-95-maine/#rw3bUTDXF9swKyxW.99