Pileup worst in Maine in past decade

While massive car and truck pileups like the one in Hampden on Thursday are normally seen in much larger cities like Los Angeles, Maine has had its share of smaller multivehicle crashes.

At least two such chain-reaction crashes proved fatal, including in late September 1991, when smoke from a burning pickup truck was blamed for causing a seven-vehicle pileup on Interstate 95 in Etna that killed a Pittsfield man.

In May 1995, a Carmel man was killed in a four-vehicle collision on U.S. Route 1A in Holden.

A survey of multiple-car accidents over the last decade showed, not surprisingly, that at least half occurred in the winter, when slickened roads can make travel treacherous. Following are the worst since 1990:

. In late September 2000, a loaded dump truck in Dexter rear-ended a car, causing a five-vehicle accident.

. In early February 2000, a five-vehicle accident on North Main Street in Brewer sent one woman to the hospital.

. Two people were sent to the hospital following a late March 2000 accident on Interstate 95 in Pittsfield that involved seven vehicles.

. One of four people injured in a late September 1999 five-vehicle accident on U.S. Route 1 in Hancock had to be extricated from his vehicle.

. In early December 1998, Stillwater Avenue in Old Town was the scene of a four-vehicle accident.

. On Dec. 24 1997, a minor accident on an icy overpass on Interstate 95 in Pittsfield snowballed into nine vehicles crashing, including a tractor-trailer.

. In early January 1996, the third snowstorm in a week caused a massive pileup in Freeport. Ultimately, 13 vehicles were involved in a chain-reaction crash.

. Later in January 1996, 11 vehicles were involved in an accident on the Maine Turnpike in Kennebunk.