A Maine Turnpike Authority employee was killed when he was hit by a truck at a construction site in Portland in one of two highway fatalities Friday afternoon in Maine.
Jeffrey Abbott, 53, of Saco died when he was struck after he left the cab of an MTA safety vehicle to remove traffic cones on the northbound side of the highway near Exit 48 around 1:35 p.m., Maine State Police spokesman Stephen McCausland said.
The driver of the truck, 20-year-old Cody Craig of Turner, had struck two vehicles ahead of him that had slowed for the construction. The truck, owned by Nortrax Corp. of Westbrook, then veered into the construction area and hit Abbott.
The two vehicles the truck hit were operated by Joshua Brown, 40, of Rumford and Kelly James, 25, of Lewiston. Neither driver was injured.
There were significant delays until state troopers cleared the scene about 5:15. No charges were filed, but the crash report will be reviewed by the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office after it is completed.
In Whitefield, police said Robert Frith, 62, of West Gardiner was killed when the dump truck he was driving overturned off Doyle Road about 1:30 p.m. The truck, which was loaded with gravel, ended up on its side and struck a tree, police said.
Frith was working for BHS Inc. in Farmingdale, McCausland said. Doyle Road, which is unpaved, was closed Friday afternoon while police investigated the crash and brought in equipment to remove the truck.
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