SACO — A late night accident on Thursday closed a section of the southbound Maine Turnpike for four hours.

State Troopers responded to a crash on the southbound Maine Turnpike in the area of mile marker 36 in Saco around 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, according to a press release from Shannon Moss, public information officer for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

A driver of a black Ford Explorer attempted to take Exit 36 at the last minute, cutting off a flatbed tractor-trailer, striking the truck, and sending it into the median, said Moss. A tractor-trailer truck with a box trailer was unable to avoid the flatbed tractor-trailer truck in the median and crashed into it, said Moss.

 Both tractor-trailer trucks caught fire and were a total loss, said Moss.

 

Courtesy Photo

 The driver of the Ford Explorer, Fidele Kaderi, 50, of Biddeford was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The operators of the tractor-trailer units were both uninjured.

The southbound lanes were shut down for about 4 hours and re-opened just before 3 a.m. Friday, said Moss.

The northbound side was shut down for a short time but reopened quickly, said Moss.

Fire departments from Saco and Scarborough arrived on scene and extinguished the fire. The Investigation continues and charges may be pending, said Moss.

Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at newsdesk@sacobaynews.com.