2025

On Tuesday, December 23, 2025, at approximately 8:57 AM, Southwest Harbor Police responded to a 911 call about an incident near Big Rocks Road, Tremont. The caller reported finding two deceased adults at the scene. Members of the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit North responded and are investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths with coordination with Southwest Harbor Police. 

The deceased will be transported to the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta where autopsies will be performed to determine the cause and manner of death. Members of the Maine State Police Evidence Response Team were dispatched to the scene and will work to process available evidence. The MSP believes this is an isolated incident with no ongoing public safety concerns. More information will be released as it becomes available.

Anyone with information related to this case is asked to contact the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit North at 207-973-3700, extension 9, and request to speak with Detective Dana Austin. Information related to this case may also be submitted to the Major Crimes Unit North via an online tip portal. https://www.maine.gov/dps/msp/about/report-crime/major-crimes-unit-north

The names of the two individuals who died in the November 19, 2025, crash in New Gloucester can be identified now that next of kin has been located and notified.

The name of the driver is 48-year-old Cristovao Cibangu of Lewiston. The passenger is 34-year-old Maria Isabel of Lewiston. The crash remains under investigation.

On Sunday, December 14, 2025, at approximately 1:18 AM, Troopers were dispatched to reports of a wrong-way driver traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of the Maine Turnpike near Kennebunk. A subsequent 911 call reported that the vehicle, a white 2023 Honda Civic, had crashed into the median at mile marker 24 in Kennebunk.

Troopers responded and located the vehicle. The operator was not injured but was evaluated at the scene by Kennebunk Rescue. The operator showed signs of impairment and was placed under arrest. He was identified as 22-year-old Lester Medina of Manchester, New Hampshire, and was transported to the York County Jail. He was charged with Aggravated Reckless Conduct, Criminal OUI, and Driving to Endanger.

Kennebunk Rescue and the Maine Turnpike Authority assisted on scene. Southbound lanes one and two were temporarily closed during the investigation. The investigation remains ongoing.

On Monday, December 8, 2025, at approximately 3:14 PM, Troop G Troopers responded to a fatal crash on the Maine Turnpike at Mile 5 southbound in York. The preliminary investigation indicates a 2022 Western Star tractor-trailer was stopped with a mechanical malfunction in the breakdown lane. The operator of the tractor-trailer had placed reflective warning triangles in the breakdown lane as required.

While the tractor trailer was stopped, a 2014 Toyota sedan, operated by 81-year-old Janice Goldsmith of Needham, Massachusetts, struck the rear of the tractor-trailer. Goldsmith was pronounced deceased at the scene. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Traffic on the southbound side of the Turnpike was reduced to one lane for approximately three hours while Troopers and first responders worked the scene and then limited to two lanes for an additional two hours. Maine State Police would like to thank all assisting agencies for their support and response.

CLINTON – Earlier this afternoon, State Police arrested Tyler Hewitt, 31, of Presque Isle, after Clinton Police received a call of a suspicious person walking on Hill Road. After canvassing the area, Clinton officers located Hewitt after he emerged from the woods near Interstate 95. Troopers confirmed Hewitt was driving on a suspended license when he was involved in a fatal crash on the morning of November 25, 2025, on Interstate 95 in Clinton, that claimed the life of John Perkins, 38, of Hampden. Hewitt fled the scene of the crash before troopers arrived. Police located a large quantity of suspected methamphetamine in a backpack Hewitt was carrying.  Hewitt was charged with aggravated trafficking of scheduled drugs, leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death, and operating after suspension. 

State Police would like to thank the Clinton Police Department for the continued support in the investigation, as well as the Clinton Fire Department, Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office, and Capital Police for their assistance.

Harpswell - At 1:45 PM, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence in Harpswell for a report of an unexploded military ordnance. Deputies immediately secured the area and contacted the Maine State Police Bomb Squad and the Harpswell Fire Department for assistance. Members of the Bomb Squad, with assistance from the Maine Air National Guard’s 101^st explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team, identified the ordnance as a British artillery round from the World War II era. The round was moved to a safe area, and after a controlled counter charge, it was revealed that there were no explosive materials in the shell. 

State Police remind anyone who may come across any suspicious ordnance, such as old shells, that it’s essential to prioritize safety. Do not touch, move, or attempt to examine the item. Instead, immediately contact your local law enforcement agency.

Clinton, – State Police responded to a single vehicle crash on Interstate 95, near mile marker 138, at 7:00 AM.  While originally thought to have occurred in the southbound lane, investigators determined a 2025 GMC Savana rental van left the northbound lane, entered the ditch area, before going airborne over the median crossover and striking a tree. A critically injured passenger was located and life-saving measures began. The passenger was transported to a local hospital but died from injuries sustained in the crash. The release of information regarding the deceased passenger is pending notification of the next of kin. 

State Police were told by witnesses that a male driver, described as wearing dark clothes and carrying a dark backpack ran from the van and into the woods before troopers arrived on scene.  Troopers searched most of the day with support from the State Police K-9 unit and the Airwing but were unable to locate the driver. State Police is asking anyone who may have witnessed the crash, or has information regarding the driver, to contact State Police Bangor at 207-973-3700. 

State Police would like to thank Clinton Fire and Rescue, Clinton Police, the Kennebec County Sheriff's Office, Maine Warden Service, and the Capitol Police for assisting on-scene.

On Wednesday, November 19, 2025, at approximately 4:26 AM, Maine State Police responded to a two-vehicle crash on I-95 southbound near mile marker 71 in New Gloucester. Upon arrival, Troopers located a serious crash involving a 2017 GMC Acadia towing a U-Haul trailer and a 2015 Audi SUV. The preliminary investigation indicates that the GMC, which was traveling southbound, became detached from the trailer ball remaining connected only by safety chains. The driver of the GMC pulled to the right shoulder and stopped, with the trailer still partially in the roadway.

Six people were in the GMC, including four children ranging in age from 7 to 14, all from Lewiston. Four occupants, an adult male driver, an adult female passenger, and two of the four children exited the vehicle and were attempting to address issues with the trailer when a southbound 2015 Audi SUV struck the trailer and the GMC from behind.

The adult female was pronounced deceased at the scene. The adult male driver suffered critical injuries and was transported to Maine Medical Center, where he later died. The two children who were outside the vehicle sustained minor injuries. The two children who remained inside the GMC also suffered minor injuries. All four children were transported to Maine Medical Center. Relationship information and family details are still being confirmed. Identities will not be released until verification is complete and next-of-kin notifications have been made.

The driver of the Audi, an adult male from Wales, sustained minor injuries. He was transported to Maine Medical Center where he was treated and released. No charges are being filed against the driver at this time.

The dynamics and circumstances of the crash remain under active investigation.  

Maine State Police would like to thank Gray Fire and Rescue, Auburn Fire and Rescue, Auburn Police Department, United Ambulance, New Gloucester Fire and Rescue, and the Maine Turnpike Authority for their assistance at the scene.

On November 17, 2025, at approximately 5:55 AM, the Maine State Police responded to a single-vehicle crash on I-95 northbound near Mile Marker 143 in Pittsfield.

Troopers arrived to find a 2012 Subaru Impreza that had gone into the median and become lodged in the trees. The driver, 56-year-old Rae Hartford of Scarborough was pronounced deceased at the scene and had to be extricated from the vehicle.

Preliminary investigation indicates speed and intoxication were likely contributing factors. Lane 1 was shut down for approximately two hours.

The crash remains under investigation. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Trooper Klayton Peckham at 207-973-3700, Ext. 9. Assisting on scene was Pittsfield Rescue and Blanchard’s Towing.

On Thursday, November 13, 2025, at approximately 9:21 PM, the Maine State Police, Fairfield Police Department, and Waterville Police Department responded to a report of a burglary in progress at a residence on Dyer Court in Fairfield. It was reported that an armed male, who appeared to be under the influence of drugs, had forced entry into the residence, was acting erratically, and was damaging property.

A Trooper arrived first and observed a male fleeing the residence and getting into a black Ford sedan. The suspect did not comply with the Trooper’s commands and began yelling out the window as he backed up the street and fled from Dyer Court. A Trooper caught up to the vehicle, but the operator failed to stop. A motor vehicle pursuit ensued through Waterville, ending when the suspect’s vehicle struck a guardrail on Water Street. The vehicle came to a stop, and the operator fled on foot. A short time later, the suspect was taken into custody without incident. There were no injuries reported.

The suspect was identified as 27-year-old Joel Williams of Vassalboro. Williams was arrested and transported to the Somerset County Jail where he was charged with the following crimes: Burglary, Criminal Mischief, Terrorizing, Eluding an Officer, Driving to Endanger, OUI Drugs, Leaving the Scene of a Motor Vehicle Accident, Criminal Speed, Reckless Conduct, Refusing to Submit to Arrest or Detention, and Violating Conditions of Release.