CUMBERLAND — A New York City couple escaped serious injury this evening when their rental car crashed and caught fire on Interstate 295 in Cumberland.
State trooper Doug Cropper said both northbound lanes were shut down for about 30 minutes because of several small explosions generated by a fire that destroyed the 2011 Subaru Forester.
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Cropper said the closure caused traffic to back up for several miles from mile marker 13 in Cumberland. The road reopened at 6:06 p.m.
The accident, which took place at 5:15 p.m., occurred when the Forester, driven by 29-year-old Erin Savner, swerved and hit a sports utility vehicle that was hauling a trailer. Savner’s vehicle bounced off the newly installed median fence and spun around, coming to rest in the breakdown lane. The couple fled the car after fire broke out.
Savner and her passenger, 28-year-old Davis Beck, were checked out by ambulance crews but did not need to be taken to a hospital. They told police they had left New York City earlier in the day and were on their way to Owls Head.
No one was injured in the SUV, which sustained minor damage.
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