Vehicle rollover on the Turnpike sends two teenagers to the hospital

From the desk of Shannon Moss, DPS PIO

On Friday, August 13, 2021, at approximately 7:23 a.m. a single-vehicle rollover occurred on the Turnpike near mile 66 in Gray.

The driver of a 2008 Hyundai Sonata was traveling northbound in the passing lane and was attempting to change lanes. That driver, a female Minor from Minneapolis who was driving on a permit, did not see the other vehicle in the travel lane, jerked the wheel left to avoid hitting the other vehicle, overcorrected right, and went off the roadway. The car rolled over multiple times, ejecting the driver. The car landed on top of the lower half of her body. The driver, in critical condition was sent by Life Flight to Maine Medical Center in Portland from Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. The passenger, a Minor female from Lewiston and also only on a permit, sustained a head laceration and was being treated at CMMC. 

Maine State law requires that an operator of a vehicle who holds a permit only must have a licensed driver that’s at least 20 years of age, with more than 2 years of experience, holding a valid license, sitting in the front passenger seat, and not impaired.