A car traveling north on Interstate 95 hit guardrails and rolled over on to Kennedy Memorial Drive in Waterville Wednesday. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel Buy this Photo
WATERVILLE — Two Sanford residents died in a car accident on Interstate 95 after their vehicle rolled over the guardrail and then caught fire, police said.
A news release issued Wednesday evening said Maine State Police responded to the report of a single-vehicle rollover on I-95 in Waterville. When troopers arrived they learned that a 2003 Chevy pickup truck was traveling north at mile marker 127 and left the roadway during a snowstorm.
The vehicle went over the interstate guardrail near the overpass above Kennedy Memorial Drive and landed on its roof in the westbound lane of KMD before going over another guardrail. Just after the crash, the vehicle was engulfed in fire.
The operator, Gary Capehart, 71, and Susan Pope, 63, both of Sanford, were found deceased in the vehicle when first responders arrived.
Westbound traffic on Kennedy Memorial Drive was closed for about two hours while the crash was investigated. Speed, weather conditions and traffic congestion from another crash have been deemed factors in the accident.
Maine Department of Transportation crews were maintaining the roadways at the time of the crash, and advisory warning signs were posted warning motorists to reduce their speed to 45 mph, the release said.
Assisting at the scene were Waterville Police, Waterville Fire Department, Oakland Police Department, Oakland Fire Department, Delta Ambulance, Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office and Ace towing.
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