Walter Williamson, 83, had just stepped out of his pickup when a tractor-trailer veered into the breakdown lane and hit him.
A crash that killed an 83-year-old Texas man who had stopped his pickup truck on the side of the Maine Turnpike Aug. 4 remains under investigation, Maine State Police said Wednesday.
The crash involving a tractor-trailer happened on a Friday afternoon at the peak of the summer tourist season, turning a normally busy section of Interstate 95 into a virtual parking lot and clogging local roads throughout the region for several hours.
Walter Williamson of Cypress, Texas, had stopped his pickup truck and camper trailer shortly before 2 p.m. on the right side of the southbound lanes near Exit 36 in Saco, said Lt. Eric Baker.
Both the pickup truck and the camper trailer were demolished when an empty flatbed tractor-trailer driven by Kenneth Hubbert, 59, of Phillipsport, New York, veered into the breakdown lane and struck the parked vehicles, Baker said.
“Witnesses said Williamson had just stepped out of his truck, ” Baker said. “He was traveling alone with his dog. The dog wasn’ t injured.”
Williamson was transported to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where he died on Aug. 6 from injuries sustained in the crash, Baker said. Williamson’s children traveled to Maine to be by his side, Baker said.
Investigators have yet to determine why the tractor-trailer went off the road, Baker said. It was badly damaged and had to be hauled from the scene.
No charges have been filed, as the investigation of the crash continues. The case will be reviewed by the District Attorney’s Office when the investigation is completed, Baker said.
The crash occurred on one of the busiest travel days of the year, according to the Maine Turnpike Authority. Northbound traffic coming into Maine is typically high on Friday afternoons in the summer, but it’s especially high on the last weekend in July and the first weekend in August.
Following the crash, highway traffic was backed up as much as 11 miles in both directions for several hours, the authority reported. While some northbound motorists slowed traffic by “rubbernecking” as they passed the crash site, other northbound drivers pulled over and crossed the median to help at the scene, Baker said.
All southbound lanes reopened by 5: 30 p.m. and traffic was flowing freely in both directions by 7: 30 p.m., the authority reported.
Williamson was a retired mechanical engineer, Air Force veteran and widower who enjoyed traveling the country with his camper trailer and his dog, Rocky, according to his obituary. He was survived by three sons, two grandchildren and several other family members.
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