Woman Who Died in a Readfield Crash Suspected in a Belgrade Crash

Police say a woman who died in a crash in Readfield is believed to have been in another crash a short time earlier.

The deceased has been identified as Martha Shellman, age 43. Her town has not been released, but officials say she is a resident of Maine.

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State Police were called to the scene of a single-vehicle crash at approximately 3:00 Sunday afternoon, which was described as involving serious injury and entrapment. When they arrived at the scene, in the area of Scribner Hill Road and Gordon Road in Readfield, they found the driver, Shellman, was already deceased.

An investigation of the circumstances suggests that the Maine woman had been driving a Dodge Journey southbound on Gordon Road when the vehicle crossed the center line. It continued off the road and crashed head-on into a tree.

State Police say it's believed that Shellman was involved in another crash minutes prior to the fatal collision with the tree in Readfield. The details of that first incident have not been released. Police say speed and alcohol are believed to have been factors in the crashes, but that more investigation is necessary to confirm that. According to officials, Shellman was wearing her seat belt.

This incident remains under investigation.

We'll update this story as more details become available.