BENTON — An 80-year-old woman died Monday evening following a single-vehicle rollover on Interstate 95 in Benton.

Killed was Mary Ricci, 80, of Portland, police said. The crash happened at 5:25 p.m. near mile marker 136 northbound on I-95, according to a news release from Sgt. Blaine Bronson of the Maine State Police. The car, driven by Ricci, left the road on the left side of the highway, the passing lane, riding up the grassy embankment and skidding in the soft dirt before going airborne and landing on its roof.

There were no passengers in the vehicle.

“The vehicle struck a ledge outcrop causing it to launch into the air and roll over three times before coming to rest on its roof approximately 300 feet from where it left the interstate,” the release said.

Ricci was pronounced dead at the scene.

Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, said in a news release Tuesday morning that investigators have not yet determined what caused the crash.

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Motor vehicle debris and personal belongings from inside the car were scattered along the embankment after the crash.

Maine State Police troopers, along with a Clinton police officer, worked to reconstruct the accident, taking measurements along the road side. Officials with Fairfield Fire Department and the Maine Department of Transportation also assisted at the scene.

Traffic was reduced to one lane Monday evening, but continued to move as police and rescue personnel from the town of Fairfield awaited for a representative from a local funeral home. A driver from Blanchard’s Towing of Clinton also waited nearby, ready to haul the wreckage away.

Tr. Samuel Tlumac is the primary investigator on the case, according to the release.

Doug Harlow — 612-2367

dharlow@centralmaine.com

Twitter:@Doug_Harlow


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