Two weeks after a work zone crash killed two state Department of Transportation employees on Interstate 95 in Waterville, the state’s crash report and the initial report of the National Transportation Safety Board have now been released.
While the crash investigation is not yet complete, the documents contain more information about what happened on Jan. 13.
The state’s crash report states Samantha Tupper, 35, failed to stop at a posted stop sign when entering Interstate 95 from the Kennedy Memorial Drive on-ramp. Tupper’s vehicle merged into the lane and failed to yield to a second vehicle, a 2025 Peterbilt truck-tractor. The truck hit the driver’s side of Tupper’s vehicle, forcing it into the active construction zone.
Tupper’s Kia minivan hit three people, including James Brown, 60, and Dwayne Campbell, 51, both of Waterville, who were killed. The third person, identified in the report as Tina Gilbert, 59, was working in the roadway and severely injured, according to the crash report.
The posted 65 mph speed limit was reduced to 55 mph through the temporary work zone.
Frank Griffin Jr., deputy district attorney for Kennebec County said no charges are pending at this time.
“It would be more accurate to say that the investigation is pending,” Griffin said. “Once it’s complete, state police will submit the case by review of my office.”
The Maine Department of Public Safety released the crash report Wednesday.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which also is investigating the crash, released its preliminary report Thursday.
According to the crash report, a Department of Transportation vehicle was the third vehicle involved in the crash, but it was unoccupied and legally parked.
Brown and Campbell worked for the Department of Transportation with Gilbert.
Gilbert was in the roadway during the time of the incident and suffered from serious bleeding all over her body, the report says. She was transported to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. She did not respond to a reporter’s attempts for a comment.
Another DOT employee was transported to the hospital.
Dylan Bailey, 23, was the operator of the second vehicle that collided with Tupper, and received a concussion, according to the report. Bailey operated the commercial vehicle for Beach Front Properties LLC out of Bernard. The truck was unloaded at the time.
Tupper had two children in her car, ages 4 and 2, who were unharmed but transported to the hospital.
