State Trooper’s Cruiser and Jeep Struck by Tractor-Trailer on I-95 in Kittery

Several people, including a Maine State Trooper escaped with minor injuries Wednesday morning after a tractor-trailer struck a police cruiser and rear-ended a Jeep on the Maine Turnpike in Kittery.

Trooper Robert Flynn was stopped near mile marker 1 in the southbound breakdown lane at approximately 9:20 a.m., according to Maine State Police spokesperson Katharine England.

Trooper Flynn had his blue emergency lights activated and was parked behind a flatbed truck that was being towed for a mechanical issue.

Police say a tractor-trailer driven by 52-year-old Johnny Rogers of Canastota, New York drifted into the breakdown lane and struck Flynn’s cruiser. The rig then veered back into the far-left lane, striking a Jeep Cherokee and pinning it against the concrete barrier in the median.

The occupants of the Jeep – a husband and wife and two children – sustained minor injuries, England said. Trooper Flynn sustained minor injuries as well.

The driver of the flatbed truck also received minor injuries when he was struck by a piece of flying debris from the police cruiser.

The driver for National Towing, who was underneath the flatbed truck trying to fix the mechanical issue at the time, miraculously was not injured, England said.

Rogers is being charged with failure to move over for an emergency vehicle and distracted driving.

Several lanes of travel were shut down to remove vehicles, which backed up traffic during the morning commute.

Assisting at the scene were Troop K (Commercial Vehicle Unit), Troop G (Turnpike), Kittery Police Department and Kittery Fire Department.