Maine

Woman Killed in Maine Crash, Minutes After Being Involved in Earlier Accident

Martha Shellman died after her SUV left the road and struck a tree head-on

Maine Department of Public Safety

Police say a 43-year-old Maine woman was killed in a crash Sunday afternoon, just minutes after she was involved in a previous accident.

Around 3 p.m., Maine State Police received a report of a single-vehicle crash with serious injury and entrapment in the area of Scribner Hill and Gorden roads in Readfield.

When they arrived at the scene, state troopers said the driver, later identified as Martha Shellman, was already dead. She had reportedly been driving a 2021 Dodge Journey south on Gorden Road when she crossed the center line, went off the road and crashed head-on into a tree.

Police said Shellman is also believed to have been involved in another crash just minutes earlier in nearby Belgrade. No further details on that crash were released, but the accident remains under investigation by the Kennebec County Sheriff's Office.

Speed and alcohol are both considered to have been factors in the fatal Readfield crash, but the exact cause remains under investigation.

Maine State Police were assisted at the scene by the Kennebec County Sheriff's Office, the Readfield Fire Department and Winthrop Rescue.

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