Hearse Carrying Casket Overturns on Interstate 95
The driver of a hearse was injured after he apparently fell asleep at the wheel and the vehicle rolled over several times on Interstate 95.
Maine State Police say the crash was reported Thursday afternoon in Pittsfield. The hearse overturned 3 or 4 times before coming to rest upright in the roadway, according to State Trooper Joseph Chretien.
The northbound side of I-95 was reduced to one lane as rescue personnel tended to the driver, 55-year-old Michael Kelley of Salisbury Cove. State Police said Kelley was taken to Sabasticook Hospital in Pittsfield, with serious but not life-threatening injuries.
The hearse, owned by Jordan-Fernald Funeral Home in Ellsworth, was transporting a body which remained in the vehicle. Following the crash, the body and casket were transferred to another hearse.