WARREN — An 82-year-old Tenants Harbor woman died at the scene of a car crash on Route 1 Monday afternoon when her car veered into the path of an oncoming tractor trailer. Witnesses said the woman had been driving erratically.
Constance Chandler-Ward was operating a 2010 Honda Fit northbound and suddenly crossed the center line, running into the rear wheels of a 2017 Freightliner Truck operated by Jesse Moore, 45, of Falmouth, according to Knox County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Tim Carroll.
The crash occurred at about 4 p.m. just north of the Sandy Shore Road in Warren. Route 1 was temporarily closed between Route 131 in Thomaston and the Western Road in Warren.
Witness Tonya Morris said she was behind the vehicle heading north on Route 1 and saw it repeatedly veer slightly. Morris said she called police shortly before the crash to report the erratic driving.
As the tractor trailer approached, the vehicle veered into the other lane and struck the back part of the trailer, causing the car to spin and then roll.
Morris said the car was spinning right in front of her and she clipped it as she tried to avoid the crash.
Another witness, Carol Bachofner, praised the driver of the tractor trailer for staying on the highway and avoiding striking other vehicles.
Bachofner and her husband also were heading north. She also noticed the vehicle veering before the crash.
Bachofner, a retired nurse, went to comfort the victim in the car and was with her when she died.
The Knox County Sheriff’s Office and the Maine State Police commercial vehicle division were at the scene investigating the crash.
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