Fatal Crash Shuts I-95, Strands Worker

A car crashed into a tree-trimming bucket truck on I-95 in Westbrook Saturday morning, killing the driver, trapping a worker up in the bucket, and shutting down the southbound lanes of the highway between exits 64 and 65, state police said.

The crash occurred around 7:18 a.m as a state Department of Transportation crew was trimming trees along the highway. Motorists were directed off the highway onto Boston Post Road, causing heavy traffic on local roads throughout the morning. One lane was reopened about 1:30 p.m.

Police had not identified the driver who died. One DOT worker required medical attention but wasn’t taken to a hospital, department spokesman Kevin Nursick said.

Firefighters were brought in to get the DOT worker down from the bucket, Nursick said.

The crew was doing routine treetrimming and had closed the right travel lane of the highway so the bucket truck could operate. The car slammed into the truck, damaging its hydraulic system.

A state police accident reconstruction team was called in.

Nursick said that there were four other DOT trucks to help close the right lane of the highway so the crew could work. In addition, electronic signs announced the work, there were orange warning signs along the highway, he said.

“There were multiple DOT vehicles on the scene to properly implement the needed right-hand lane closure of the highway,” Nursick said. “They would have set up a perimeter of at least 1,000 feet around the bucket truck.”