Eastport Woman’s Illegal Use of I95 Crossover Causes Bad Crash

Two people were injured when a woman illegally used an interstate crossover on I-95, in an attempt to change lanes.

The crash happened at approximately 8:45 AM Saturday on I-95 in Pittsfield, according to Maine Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Shannon Moss.

An initial investigation of the incident revealed that a Nissan Altima was traveling southbound when the driver, Kaitlyn Hawkes, 28, of Eastport, decided she needed to turn around. Police say Hawkes allegedly attempted to use the crossover to change direction. A crossover is a lane that runs perpendicular to interstate travel and connects the northbound and southbound lanes. These lanes are restricted to authorized vehicles only.

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When Hawkes' vehicle entered the northbound passing lane, it was struck by a truck driven by Richard Pillsbury, 32. of Winslow. Police say Pillsbury was traveling in the passing lane and was unable to avoid the crash. Hawkes was transported to Sebasticook Valley Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Hawkes' passenger, 33-year-old Tiffany Bowen of Pembroke, was taken by Life Flight to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries. Pillsbury was not hurt.

Kaitlyn Hawkes is charged with aggravated driving to endanger and operating with an expired license. Anyone who witnessed the crash is urged to contact the Maine State Police and speak with Trooper Garret Booth.

Maine State Police remind drivers that using crossovers is not permitted for any reason whatsoever, and is highly dangerous to everyone driving on the interstate. They ask that people drive responsibly and, if they miss their exit, to proceed to the next off-ramp and reroute themselves to get to their destination safely.