Two Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) workers were tragically killed in Waterville on Tuesday after a driver allegedly failed to stop at a stop sign posted during construction, resulting in the workers being launched from a bridge.
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The Maine State Police responded at approximately 9:37 a.m. to reports of two pedestrians being killed in a crash on I-95 southbound near mile marker 127.
The MDOT had closed down the travel lane near the end of the on-ramp from Kennedy Memorial Drive as part of bridge construction and blocked it off with cones, while posting a stop sign as MDOT laborers worked on the project.
Based on an initial investigation, police believe that a gray Kia minivan failed to stop at the stop sign. Instead, the driver reportedly entered the passing lane of I-95 southbound, where she was struck by a truck traveling southbound.
The minivan was then reportedly propelled by the crash into the work zone, striking three MDOT road workers.
Two of those workers were launched off the bridge and onto Kennedy Memorial Drive below.
The two workers who fell off the bridge were pronounced dead at the scene and identified as James Brown, 60, of Waterville, and Dwayne Campbell, 51, of Waterville.
The third worker who was struck was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The minivan driver was identified as Samantha Tupper, 34, of Augusta, who was driving with two small children in her vehicle.
The children were uninjured, and Tupper was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The truck driver was not injured.
As a result of the crash, police shut down all lanes of I-95 southbound for several hours while reconstructing the scene.
The incident remains under investigation.
