State police say a 76-year-old Auburn woman who drove the wrong way on the stretch of Interstate 295 between Topsham and Brunswick for more than three miles was killed after her SUV struck the concrete abutment supporting the Pleasant Street overpass in Brunswick.

Maine State Police Trooper Marvin Hinkley, who investigated the crash, identified the woman as Therese Cyr, of Auburn. She died at the scene.

Hinkley said in an email that Cyr was driving in the median when her vehicle hit the abutment, which is located next to Exit 28 in Brunswick.

Hinkley said the northbound lanes were closed for almost two hours. No other vehicles were involved in the crash and state police do not know why Cry traveled south in the northbound lane.

Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, said state troopers think the woman got on the interstate at the Topsham Fair Mall northbound exit.

A Lifeflight helicopter was called to transport the victim and landed on the highway, but the woman had died, McCausland said.

A team of state troopers and Freeport police shut down the interstate following the crash, which occurred around 7:30 p.m.

Cyr’s death was the 24th Maine highway fatality in September, according to McCausland.

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

dhoey@pressherald.com

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CORRECTION: This story was updated at 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 29, 2017,  to correct the number of roadway fatalities for the month.

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