One Person Injured After Vehicle Hits Dump Truck [UPDATE]

One person was seriously injured after a three vehicle accident on I-95 Northbound on Thursday afternoon. One person was taken by ambulance to the hospital with serious injuries.

Public Safety Spokesman Steve McCausland says the accident happened at mile 113 on I-95 in Augusta, just north of the third Augusta exit. It was around noon Thursday when the driver of a dump truck, Sherwood Kemp, age 55 from Leeds, slowed in traffic due to an unrelated car fire in the breakdown lane.

A late-model Toyota sedan, driven by Katrina Heald-Richards, age 54 from Fairfield, that was following the truck, slowed in traffic. At that point, the Toyota was struck from behind by a Jeep Cherokee driven by Nichole Pilla, age 27 from Oakland. The impact pushed Heald-Richards' car into the back of the dump truck and trapped her in the car.

Augusta fire and State Police responded and shut down the Northbound lane. Heald-Richards was freed from the car and taken to MaineGeneral Hospital in Augusta by ambulance with serious injuries. Kemp and Pilla received minor injuries and were not transported to the hospital.

Police continue to investigate the crash. Northbound traffic was backed up for about two hours following the crash, with vehicles using the breakdown lane to get around the crash site.