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UPDATE-3:45 a.m. -State Police say a tractor trailer may have been following too close this morning when it collided with a van along Route 3 in China.   According to Maine Department of Public Safety Spokesman Steve McCausland, both vehicles were headed west toward Augusta  when the van slowed down to make a left hand turn.  The truck swerved and collided into the side of the van, sending it into the woods.  The tractor trailer then overturned in the road, spilling hundreds of sheets of plywood it was hauling, McCausland said.

According to McCausland, the driver of the van was Pamela Page, 49, of Palermo, who was taken to MaineGeneral and then transferred to Maine Medical Center in Portland.  She was trapped in the Chrysler Town and Country van for almost an hour as firefighters used extraction tools to cut the doors off the van to free her, according to McCausland.

The truck driver, who was not injured in the crash, was James Butler, 46, of Liberty, who also owns the truck, McCausland said.  A team of troopers investigated the crash and McCausland said the road was closed at the crash site for four and half hours, until 12:30 p.m., when one lane reopened.  Work continued through the afternoon to remove the plywood and also to clean up about 60 gallons of diesel fuel which spilled from the truck’s fuel tanks, McCausland added.

A representative from the district attorney’s office responded to the crash and  no decision has been made on whether charges may be filed, McCausland said  The full crash report will be reviewed by them once it is completed.

Original story continues below

An accident involving a car and tractor trailer truck has been reported to us somewhere near Dirigo and Alder Park Roads on RT 3. Early reports indicating at least one "critically injured" and that the driver of the 18-wheeler "crawled out of the truck himself". We will update the story as we get more info.

(Photos courtesy of Walker Thompson)

 

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