A car swerving to avoid roadkill caused a 9-vehicle pileup on the Maine Turnpike Friday morning.
Around 8:15 a.m., state police said the driver of a Dodge Caliber swerved to avoid roadkill, overcorrected, and then rolled their vehicle into a ditch near mile marker 185 northbound on Interstate 95 near the Broadway exit in Bangor.
Minutes later, a second crash involving a tractor-trailer truck was called in. Traffic quickly came to a halt as state police responded to the scene.
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A second tractor-trailer then came around the bend and was unable to avoid the stopped traffic, striking several other vehicles, which in turn caused a chain reaction crash involving other vehicles, state police said.
Nine vehicles in total were involved in the pileup.
Two people were taken to St. Joseph's Hospital in Bangor, where they were treated and released.
Authorities were able to open one lane of travel fairly quickly, and the rest of the highway was reopened around 11:30 a.m.
The crash remains under investigation, but state police said no charges are expected.
