VASSALBORO — When a crash on Interstate 95 in Waterville killed two Department of Transportation workers in January, DOT workers Chad Manson and Rick King were there. If they hadn’t been, the devastating crash could have been worse.

After a minivan and tractor trailer collided, the minivan careened into an active construction zone where it struck and killed James Brown, 60, and Dwayne Campbell, 51.

Manson threw himself at a coworker, pushing her and himself out of the minivan’s path, likely saving their lives. Manson was injured in the process, but still jumped from the bridge he was on in the hopes of helping Brown and Campbell, who were pushed off the bridge.

In the meantime Rick King ran to the minivan, removing a baby and caring for the other child who had been in the car at the time of the crash. King gave aid at the scene to those who needed it.

At the Maine State Police Merit and Citation Awards Ceremony on Friday at the Criminal Justice Academy, Manson was one of more than 40 people honored.

Manson placed himself in harm’s way to protect others during one of Maine’s most memorable and horrific accidents last year, earning him the Walker-Deslauriers Memorial Award. The state police also honored King with a Special Award of Commendation.

Earlier Friday morning, the state police arrested the minivan driver in the crash following multiple charges.

Neither Manson nor King attended the ceremony. A crowd of around 225 honored them regardless.

At the same ceremony, state police honored the team of troopers whose investigation led to the arrest and conviction of Benjamin Lancaster after Lancaster struck and killed 2 1/2-year-old twin brothers Bradley and Noah Bordeaux and seriously injured their mother, Mollie Egold, in a hit-and-run accident in July 2025 in Albion.

Lancaster pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter.

The troopers earned the Meritorious Service Award for their response to the hit-and-run and investigation that followed.

“It’s a sobering moment,” Sgt. Tyler Harrington, one of the award recipients, said. “Today’s ceremony highlights the importance of first responders and thorough investigations … at the end of the day it’s the victims of that incident that my heart is with, with two young boys myself.”

The ceremony honored the achievements of the Maine State Police, civilians and scholarship recipients, as well as current, retired and deceased state police officers.