SCARBOROUGH — Multiple calls reporting a wrong-way driver on the Turnpike near mile marker 42 in Scarborough were received by the Bangor and Augusta Regional Communication Centers on Friday, March 21, at approximately 6 a.m.
Witnesses reported that the vehicle, a 2018 Ford Fusion, was traveling northbound in the southbound lanes before exiting the Turnpike onto Interstate 295.
Additional reports indicated that the vehicle was later seen traveling through the I-295 tolls in South Portland.
The wrong-way vehicle, operated by 86-year-old George Vandenburgh of Portland, ultimately collided head-on with a tractor trailer unit traveling southbound near Exit 4 on Interstate 295.
The operator of the tractor trailer was transported to Maine Medical Center in Portland with non-life-threatening injuries.
Vandenburgh was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Both the northbound and southbound lanes were closed to traffic for several hours.
Both lanes have since reopened.
The crash remains under investigation.
