Two Maine State Police cruisers were struck in separate collisions early Friday morning while troopers responded to highway traffic incidents.
The first crash happened shortly after midnight, as a trooper was heading north on the Maine Turnpike in Lewiston, state police spokesperson Shannon Moss said in a statement. The trooper was responding to a crash in Gardiner with his vehicle’s emergency lights and sirens on.
A pickup truck driven by Javier Martinez, 24, of Waterville, swerved into the trooper’s lane, hitting the right side of the cruiser, Moss said. Martinez was summonsed on a charge of operating under the influence of alcohol and released pending a court hearing.
The second crash occurred right after another trooper got back into his cruiser following a traffic stop on Route 1 in Gouldsboro. His cruiser’s emergency lights were still flashing when the vechicle was sideswiped by a Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Andrew Pratt, 71, of Cutler, Moss said.
Pratt was summonsed on a charge of improper passing of a stationary emergency vehicle, and an adverse driver report will be filed with the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles, similar to a report filed July 4 for a previous violation by Pratt, Moss said.
No one was injured, and the damage was minor in both collisions.
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