On Friday, March 21, 2025, at approximately 6:00 am., officials received multiple calls reporting a wrong-way driver on the Turnpike near mile marker 42 in Scarborough.  Witnesses reported that the vehiclel, a 2018 Ford Fusion, traveling northbound in the southbound lanes, subsequently exited the Turnpike onto Interstate 295.  Additional reports indicated that the vehicle was later seen traveling through the !-295 tolls in South Portland.

The wrong-way vehicle, operated by George Vandenburgh, 86, of Portand, ultimately collided head-on with a tractor trailer unit traveling southbound near Exit 4 on Interstate 295. The operator of the tractor trailer was transported to Maine Medical Center in Portland with non-life threatening injuries

Vandenburgh was pronounced dead at the scene.

Both the northbound and southbound lanes were closed to traffic for several hours.  Both lanes have since reopened.  The crash remains under investigation according to Shananon Moss, Public Information Officer, for the Department of Public Safety.

Please visit previous post for more background information on this tragic incident.