Maine State Police on Wednesday afternoon provided details about a morning crash that sent a tree service truck through a guardrail on Interstate 295 in Portland and into the bay 30 feet below.
Arazo Marrero Niorge, 51, of Lakeland, Florida, was driving north in the left-most lane of I-295 in Portland in a 2011 Freightliner utility truck, owned by Tree’s R Us out of Illinois, when he tried to merge right, according to state police.
Seeing a driver in the far right lane of the highway attempting to merge at the same time, Niorge tried to return to his lane, but another vehicle was coming up behind and he overcorrected, losing control, police said. The truck veered right crossing all three lanes of traffic and breaking through the guardrail and falling over the embankment.
Portland police described the truck soaring over a pedestrian path and into the bay. Maine State Police said the truck landed on its passenger side on the paved path, which was then partially submerged by flooding from the storm, and slid into the bay.
Niorge and two other people in the truck were wearing their seatbelts and were able to get out of the truck by themselves, Maine State Police reported. Portland police said the occupants of the truck were helped to shore by a Portland Water District employee.
All three were brought to Maine Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
