3 Maine State Police Cruisers Hit, 1 Trooper Was Hurt

A Maine State Police Trooper was hurt in a crash, after a weekend that saw three cruisers hit by passersby.

In One Crash, a Maine State Trooper Was Taken to the Hospital

In the worst of the three crashes, Maine State Police Trooper Patrick Flanagan and the driver of a vehicle he had pulled over in the traffic stop suffered non-life-threatening injuries. As Trooper Flanagan was conducting the stop on the Turnpike in Biddeford Saturday evening, his cruiser was rear-ended by another vehicle, causing the cruiser to spin around and hit the stopped vehicle. Both the trooper and the driver in the traffic stop were taken to local hospitals. The driver of the vehicle that hit the cruiser, Xianying Yu, 25, of Allston, Massachusetts suffered minor Injuries and was taken to a local hospital. She's been summonsed for failing to keep right.

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One Driver in Another Crash Was Summonsed for OUI

In two less serious crashes, cruisers were hit without resulting in any injuries. One happened in the early morning hours Friday when a Maine State Police Trooper was finishing up with a traffic stop on Route 1 in Gouldsboro. He had just re-entered his cruiser and still had the lights activated when it was sideswiped by a Jeep Grand Cherokee, driven by Andrew Pratt, 71, of Cutler, who has a history of traffic infractions and interactions with the police. He was summonsed for improper passing of a stationary emergency vehicle. Damage to the cruiser was relatively minor.

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Shortly after midnight on Friday, a Trooper was responding to a crash in Gardiner on the Maine Turnpike in Lewiston with his emergency lights and siren on, when a pickup truck served erratically into the Trooper's lane. The truck, driven by Javier Martinez, 24, of Waterville made contact with the right side of the cruiser, causing minor damage to both vehicles. No one was hurt in the crash. Martinez was summonsed for operating under the influence and released, pending a court hearing.

It's the Law in Maine That Drivers Must Move Over for Emergency Vehicles

Maine State Police remind residents that the state has a 'slow down move over  law,' which requires drivers to slow down and move into the adjacent law (whenever possible) when passing certain vehicles on the side of the road. This includes police cruisers, tow trucks, ambulances, fire trucks, and any vehicle that's stopped in the breakdown lane.