(Newswire.net — February 26, 2015) — The piles of snow from recent storms caused the 40+ car crash that happened in the morning rush hour, around 7:30 am, authorities said. There were no casualties, however, at least 11 people were hospitalized with minor injuries, Stephen McCausland, a spokesperson for the state’s Department of Public Safety, told reporters.
An eyewitness, McCausland, told the Bangor Daily News that after the initial crash, other cars just started to crash into each other. “Some of those other crashes involved two or three vehicles each, and then other vehicles went off the road to avoid collisions,” he said to the paper in a statement.
According to a 24-year-old contractor Matthew Theriault, who witnessed the first crash, the drivers were “going way too fast for conditions” when the first crash occurred. Soon other crashes occurred one after another which piled up smashed cars across the road, blocking the lanes.
“Nothing seems to be moving much,” Theriault told the paper. “It’s just a hunk of metal,” McCausland said he heard one trooper described the scene.
Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor confirmed to the Associated Press that it had received 11 patients at its emergency department by 10 am. The hospital representative told the AP that the patients were in conditions ranging from good to fair, however, the police said two patients that were brought in were in serous condition. So far there have been no reports of fatalities.
“EMMC is providing appropriate care to all patients who have arrived at our Emergency Department, and we anticipate being able to meet the needs of any additional patients that may arrive,” the hospital told the Daily News on Wednesday morning.
The hospital representative also said that 19 students were in the school bus that was involved in the crash, however, no one onboard suffered anything beyond a minor injury.
Authorities expect more snowfall in the region and they urge drivers to adjust their speed according to the conditions and to drive carefully.