State police identified the man killed in Wednesday night’s crash on Interstate 295 in Freeport as Daniel Cressey Sr., 78, of Gorham.

Police say Cressey drove north in the southbound lanes for at least two miles, swerving to avoid oncoming cars, and finally crashed into a car driven by Mary Warner, 58, of Holden.

Warner is being treated for injuries at Maine Medical Center. Her condition was not considered to be life-threatening.

The crash occurred just after 7 p.m. about two miles north of the Mallett Drive exit.

Police suspect that the man got on the highway at the Mallett Drive exit ramp in Freeport and drove north into southbound traffic, said Steve McCausland, spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety.

Cressey was killed instantly, McCausland said.

McCausland said several motorists called police just before the crash to report a car going in the wrong direction on the interstate.

State police closed both southbound lanes from Exit 28 in Brunswick to Exit 22 in Freeport for almost two hours after the crash, causing traffic to back up for several miles toward the Brunswick town line.

A state police dispatcher said southbound traffic approaching the crash site from Topsham and Brunswick had to take Route 1 south to Freeport.

McCausland said investigators will keep working to confirm where the man got on the interstate.

Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:

dhoey@pressherald.com