TRAFFIC ALERT: Multi-Vehicle Pile-up On I-95 in Carmel [UPDATE]

Multi-vehicle Pile-up in Carmel

Drivers are advised to avoid I-95 northbound in Carmel as police deal with a multi-vehicle accident, involving 30+ vehicles.

UPDATE: State Police say both northbound lanes of I-95 in Carmel have reopened to traffic. The road has been blocked since 7:45 a.m.

Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland says State Police estimate about 30 vehicles were involved in this morning's crash near mile marker 174 in Carmel. There are been some injuries, including one serious enough to call in a LifeFlight helicopter, that landed in the roadway, north of the crash site. That person has been transported to a Bangor hospital. A spokesperson for Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center informs us they 'expect to receive between 9 and 13 patients from this incident.'

Another challenge this morning has been the several hundred drivers who have been stranded behind the crash site. State Troopers and the Department of Transportation are making plans to use a crossover to get those vehicles turned around, and the drivers on their way.

McCausland says an initial investigation suggests that blinding sun may have caused the first crash at about 7:45 Tuesday morning, and then several other vehicles collided in a chain reaction. State Troopers and many wreckers are working to clear the road of the damaged vehicles, so the northbound lane of I-95 is expected to be closed until at least noon. Drivers are being diverted at Exit 157 in Newport, until the scene can be cleared.