• A wrong-way driver on Maine Turnpike caused a fatal head-on collision Wednesday night in Portland.
  • The initial investigation shows the wrong-way driver first hit a pickup truck and then collided head-on with an SUV.
  • Emergency responders found one deceased person in the SUV, and both occupants of the wrong-way vehicle were also declared deceased upon arrival.

A wrong-way driver on the Maine Turnpike struck two vehicles, causing a head-on collision that killed three people, police said.

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Maine police said they were still working to identify the occupants of the vehicles in the Wednesday night crash in Portland. They said the wrong-way vehicle was a sedan that was going southbound in the northbound lane at a high rate of speed.

Portland, Cumberland, Augusta crime

Both the SUV and sedan caught fire, leading to the occupants' fatalities, according to police.

An initial investigation indicates the wrong-way driver hit a pickup truck before striking a sports utility vehicle head-on, police said. The second crash caused both vehicles to catch fire and become fully engulfed, police said.

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Police said there was only one person in the SUV and they were deceased upon the arrival of emergency responders. They said both occupants of the wrong-way vehicle were also declared deceased on arrival. The driver of the pickup truck was not injured, police said.

Police said the crash was still under investigation on Thursday.