AUGUSTA — A Sidney woman was treated for minor injuries Friday following a crash on I-95 in Augusta that backed up traffic for more than a mile.

Margaret Popp, 56, of Sidney, was driving a Mazda Miata roadster about 7:30 a.m. when it was struck from behind by a tractor-trailer, causing the small car to spin around several times, said Maine State Trooper Travis Luce.

The accident occurred around mile 111, Luce said, and afterward traffic was backed up to around exit 112, near the Bond Brook Bridge Overpass.

Luce did not know the exact reason the vehicles collided, but he said the truck driver, Timothy Fortier, 53, of Fairfield may have been looking over his shoulder to change lanes and did not see the Mazda because it was foggy.

After the truck first bumped the Mazda from behind, Luce said, the car spun around and was perpendicular in the roadway. The truck driver tried to go around it, but was not able to and struck the car again, sending it spinning into the passing lane, Luce said.

Popp complained of chest pain after the accident, perhaps related to pressure from her seatbelt, Luce said. Responders took her to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

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The Mazda was totaled and eventually towed away by a wrecker, Luce added.

Fortier was driving a truck for Hopkins Transport of Trenton and was able to drive away from the accident, Luce said.

No charges will be filed in connection with the accident, Luce said.

By around 9:30 a.m., the scene was cleared and both lanes of the interstate southbound were back open, according to Luce.

After the accident, traffic had come to a standstill and was backed up for about a mile and a half, said Ted Talbot, spokesman for the Maine Department of Transportation.

Charles Eichacker — 621-5642

ceichacker@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @ceichacker


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