A Portland man’s car was destroyed by a fire Wednesday morning on Interstate 95’s southbound lanes in Pittsfield.
Godefroy Watchiba, 41, was driving a 1999 Toyota Camry at 7:30 a.m. when he heard a loud noise come from below his car and he pulled over to investigate, according to a news release from the Maine Department of Public Safety.
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Soon after, flames shot out from under Watchiba’s car. Watchiba managed to grab personal items from the vehicle as state police Sgt. Bruce Scott arrived on scene.
No one was injured and the fire was extinguished by the Pittsfield Fire Department.
Southbound traffic was reduced to one lane for about an hour.
About eight hours earlier, several miles east on I-95, a tractor-trailer loaded with potatoes went off the road in Carmel and came to rest in the median after hitting several trees.
The driver, Scott Rand, 49, of Sherman Mills, was not injured in the 11:30 p.m. crash, according to a state police news release.
Police, who said they don’t know why the truck went off the road, estimate damage to the truck’s cab at $15,000. The trooper cited Rand for a log book violation.
The potatoes were being off-loaded to another truck today and the tractor-trailer was expected to be removed later this afternoon, the release said.
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