Van crash injures 6 on slick I-95 Old Town to Hampden site of many accidents

Amid at least a dozen vehicle accidents on a slippery stretch of Interstate 95 between Old Town and Hampden on Friday night, one received the most attention.

Three adults and three children, none of whom were identified at the scene, were taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor after the silver GMC van in which they were riding slid off I-95 southbound near mile marker 196 in Old Town. At least 10 police cars, ambulances and fire engines arrived in a long, flashing streak down the highway to assist at the scene.

The van, which bore Ohio license plates, entered the large ditch in the median strip at around 10 p.m. Some of the passengers were disabled, according to State Trooper Larry Anderson. A large black trailer attached to the back of the van also fell into the ditch and was carrying equipment belonging to the passengers, Anderson said.

As of 11 p.m., the passengers had not been identified and no information was available from Eastern Maine Medical Center. Icy conditions seemed to be the cause of the van’s sliding off the road, Anderson said.

A flurry of accidents began occurring in Greater Bangor as the temperature dipped and roads became slick. Police responded to calls of cars off the road on I-395 in Brewer and on Route 222 in Levant, in addition to the numerous accidents on I-95.