Maine State Police are investigating three separate crashes involving troopers over the weekend. One left an officer injured Saturday night.
The Department of Public Safety said Maine State Police Trooper Patrick Flanagan was on a traffic stop with his emergency lights activated at mile marker 32 southbound on the Maine Turnpike in Biddeford when his cruiser was rear-ended by another vehicle. The force of the crash caused Trooper Flanagan’s cruiser to spin around and strike the vehicle he had pulled over.
The driver of that vehicle suffered minor injuries. Trooper Flanagan suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a Portland hospital.
Police say the driver of the vehicle that struck the cruiser is 25-year-old Xianying Yu of Allston, Massachusetts. She suffered minor injuries and was taken to a Biddeford hospital. She was summonsed for Failing to Keep Right. The crash remains under investigation.
The Department of Public Safety wants to remind drivers that Maine law requires drivers to move over or slow down when approaching all stopped emergency, public service, or disabled vehicles on the side of the road.
Another Maine State Police Trooper was hit shortly after midnight on Friday while he was was responding to a motor vehicle crash on the Maine Turnpike in Gardiner. The officer was using his emergency lights and siren when a Ford pickup truck operated by 24-year-old Javier Martinez of Waterville swerved into his lane hitting the right side of the cruiser. No one was injured in the crash.
Police say Martinez was operating under the influence of alcohol. He was summonsed for OUI and released pending a court hearing.
A third Maine State Police Trooper was involved in an accident early Friday morning while conducting a traffic stop on Route 1 in Gouldsboro. The trooper had just gotten back into his cruiser with the lights activated when his cruiser was sideswiped by a Jeep Grand Cherokee. There were no injuries to either party.
Police say the Jeep's driver, 71-year-old Andrew Pratt of Cutler, has had several law enforcement interactions and traffic complaints, resulting in adverse driving reports filed with Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
