3 die in Maine when car goes in wrong direction on turnpike, hitting 2 vehicles

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

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.

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.

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.