A woman died when a tree branch went through her vehicle’s windshield during a series of severe storms that passed through Maine on Thursday.

The woman was driving northbound on Route 15 early Thursday afternoon when a tree limb of “substantial size” fell on the vehicle, penetrating the windshield and striking her, the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

A youth in the front seat sustained minor injuries and was transported to a hospital while a young child in the back seat was uninjured, the sheriff’s office said.

A witness passing by saw the vehicle continue moving northbound after it was struck, the sheriff’s office said.

“Realizing that additional occupants could still be at risk, the witness took decisive action to safely stop the vehicle from continuing down the roadway,” the sheriff’s office stated. “Their quick thinking and selfless actions may have prevented further injuries to the passengers … Our hearts go out to the victim, her family, friends, and the entire community during this incredibly difficult time.”

The Corinth Fire Department posted about the incident on social media Thursday evening, noting its impact on first responders as well. They said crews from multiple area fire and EMS departments assisted at the scene.

“We extend our deepest condolences to family and friends of those involved and ask for thoughts for those responders that handled this very difficult incident,” the department said in its post.

Severe thunderstorms made the response “somewhat difficult,” the fire department said.

The storms also caused thousands of power outages across the state.

Crews were working Friday morning to restore power to tens of thousands of customers statewide after high winds blew trees onto power lines and roads.

Outage reports were decreasing throughout the morning Friday. As of about 7:30 a.m., about 25,000 Central Maine Power and Versant Power customers were still without power, down from a high of nearly 60,000.

A slew of public safety departments reported responding to calls for wires and trees down in roads in social media posts Thursday, from Rumford to Rockport to St. Albans.

The Rockport Police Department notified the public around 3:20 p.m. that Main Street between Cross Street and Simonton Corner was shut down until further notice, with a large tree and wires completely blocking the road.

The Thorndike Fire Department also reported a road closure Thursday afternoon along Gordon Hill Road (Route 139) near the intersection of Route 220.

In a social media post later Thursday evening, the Thorndike department said it had responded to three separate calls for trees and wires down following the “strong storm system.”

“We would also like to extend a special thank you to the residents of Gordon Hill Road who came out to lend a hand with the cleanup,” the department said. “Your support and community spirit are greatly appreciated and are a perfect example of neighbors helping neighbors.”

Around the same time, the Lincolnville Fire Department announced Route 52 was closed beause of fallen trees and power lines

Mount Vernon, Fayette and West Gardiner were among the Kennebec County towns that were particularly hard-hit by the fast-moving storms, although reports of trees and wires down surfaced across the county.

Eastern Aroostook County, Central Piscataquis County, and north-central Penobscot County were under severe thunderstorm watches by the National Weather Service until 3 p.m. Thursday.

The weather service also placed much of Maine’s coastline under a special marine warning, stretching from Port Clyde to Cape Elizabeth, until 3:30 p.m. That warning called for wind gusts up to 40 knots that could damage small vessels and cause higher waves.