Central Maine Woman Dead Following Friday Night Crash

Friday night's icy roads led to a series of crashes across the State of Maine.  Sadly, one of those crashes was fatal.

According to a press release from Shannon Moss at the Maine Department of Public Safety, a 59 year old woman from Madison is dead following a crash that happened near Waterville on the I-95.

The incident happened on the northbound side of the highway, on the Messalonskee Bridge (near Exit 130).  Michelle Demchak, of Madison, came across a minor crash that involved the driver of a 2014 Hyundai sliding into the guardrail.  Demchak had gotten out of her Ford Escape to help the occupant(s) of the Hyundai.

As she was doing that, a man from Atkinson, who was driving a 2015 Ford F-150, that was towing a car carrier, entered the crash area.  His truck hit the Hyundai, which struck Demchak who was standing near the car.  Demchak was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency responders.

The press release goes on to say:

Maine State Police shut down both the north and southbound lanes and diverted traffic into Waterville for approximately 2.5 hours.  Several area agencies responded to the crashes to include the Maine Warden Service, Waterville PD, Fairfield PD and Clinton PD.  Waterville and Winslow Fire Departments responded and Delta Ambulance provided emergency medical aid to victims of all the crashes. Three people were transported to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. The Maine Department of Transportation helped coordinate the cleanup with local wreckers from Blanchard’s and Carroll’s Towing Services.

Our thoughts go out to all those involved in the tragic situation.

The Maine State Police continue to investigate the fatal crash.  At this point, it appears that road conditions and drivers going faster than they should are the contributing factors in the fatal crash.

The press release explains that there were a total of ten crashes, of varying severity, on the I-95 on Friday night.