Collision Reconstruction Report I Maine State Police Approved HR No. Case No. rtment Bath? Police HR-2016-055 16-005442 Reconstructionist Ran First Name Last DET SGT Andrew Booth ACT rtment Address . 250 Water St. Bath ME 04530 Phone Number 207?443-5563 In atin Of?cer Rank First Name Last PTL Rick Ross Phone Number 207-443-5 563 Date and Time Arrived 4/4/16 1438hrs Coun Sa ahoc Date and Time Contacted 4/4/16 1436hrs or Town Date and Time of Incident 4/4/16 1436h rs Route or Street Leeman Viaduct Photo's Whom: Booth Photo?s Can Be Obtain At: Bath PD of Incident Personal In Other Motor Vehicle Commercial Vehicle Fatal Crime Scene Team Members Present Personnel: 1. DET SGT Andrew Booth 2. 3. 4. Function Reconstruction Reconstruction 1: Scene Evaluation 3. Other: Year Make Model 0 rator Vehicle 2003 Mercu Mountaineer Melissa Medina 7/5/79 Vehicle 2001 Ford F150 0 7/1/56 Vehicle Vehicle Notes: Unit 1 lost control due to icy roadway then crashed through guardrail and off viaduct (overpass) Leeman Hwy Bath. Landed on Unit 2 on lower portion of Leeman Hwy. Court Action: Date: 4/6/16 Yes No Melissa Medina Reconstruction W?aat? Cha n/a Status: CLOSED st Si nature roved SARS sac. Pm MAINE STATE POLICE COLLISION RECONSTRUC ION Maine State Police PROGRESS REPOR?r'oved HR No. HR-2016-055 STATE OF Mg: ram-g Case No. 16-005442 . \p-uu 'a?ru?v . . Rank FNamo MI LName Troop 1' Dept: Detective Sergeant Andrew mam? mg Bath PD Primary Rank FName n1 LName I Troop 1' Dept: Investigator: Patrolman Richard Ros Assistantseniorcrash' Bath PD Regonstnictzon SYNOPSIS: On 4/4/16 at aroun 1436hrsp??i? a 2003 Mercury Mountaineer, driven by Melissa Medina of Windham and occupied by her 12 yo son, were headed southbound on RT 1 (Leeman Hwy viaduct) overpass. Medina lost control due to icy road conditions and started to fishtail into the northbound lane, then back into the southbound lane, striking the guardrail apparently almost head-on, causing the vehicle to flip over the guardrail and plummet straight down on top of Unit 2, a 2011 Ford occupied by the driver, Roy Ordway, of Bath. Unit 1?s roof impacted the bed of the pickup. Unit 1's occupants suffered serious injury. Unit 2?s driver was uninjured. PERSONS 14mm Operator: Melissa Medina Windham, ME 04062 Passenger: Matthew Medina Operator: Roy Ordway Bath, ME 04530 Passenger: INJURIES: Unit 1, Melissa Medina: Unit1 Matthew Medina: Unit 2, Rev Ordwav: VEHICLE INFORMATION ANEAMAGE: Green 2003 Mercury Mountaineer ME PC 8227VC, VIN 4M2ZU66K23UJ03967 (RWD only, no Noted Damage: Total loss. Damage centered on roof due to impact with Unit 2 (roof-down impact) Tire Information: Tires were in good shape (mud and snow) with adequate tread. Date: Approved By: Page 2 of 11 Tire Make Type Eapg?ggw? "a Air Tread Comments . Pressure Depth April 14, 2016 (psi) (32?s) LF Miracle CrosstourSLX fiat 6/32 Rim damage, puncture RF Mirada CroestourSLX 245f 01215 gtlat 6/32 Rim damage, puncture - :Aaaistant'Sehior Crash . RR Mirada CrosstourSLX iluil 6/32 good condition .. pggahgtn LR Mirada Cro'sstourSLX fuli 6/32 Good condition - Unit 2: Gray 2011 Ford 50, ME PC 5291TQ, VIN Noted Damage: vertical crush damage to pickup bed Tire Info: NIA Date: Approved By: Page 3 of 11 TRAFFIC AND COMET-IONS: The viaduct on RT 1 (Leeman in Bath) is an overpass that connects RT 1 with the Sagadahoc Bridge over the Ke'nnebec River. It is a two lane concrete covered roadway divided by a double yellow line, white fog lines on the shoulder,-and with 2?10? guardrails (concrete and aluminum) on each side. Traffic was moderate to heavy (2:30pm on a vvorkday). The roadway was reportedly covered in a thin 'sheet of black ice due to weather conditions. Salt trucks were out but had not yet treated the viaduct. The speed limit is posted 35mph. Road conditions appear to have contributed to the crash. Date: Approved By: Page 4 of 11 Looking southbound. Tire marks indicate Unit 1 had been swervmg in both lanes, then off right shoulder (north side of viaduct). HEATHER CONDITIONS: The temperature was in the 20?s, with light falling snow for much of the afternoon, and some areas seeing freezing rain. Motorists and responding officers reported black ice on the viaduct. Weather conditions appear to have contributed to the crash. LIGHT CONDITIONS: Visibility was adequate, with cloudy skies, overcast, and falling snow. Light conditions do not appear to have contributed to the crash. DETAILS OF INVESTIGATION: On 4/4/16 at 1436hrs, Bath Police and Fire units responded to a 911 call about a vehicle that had plunged off the viaduct landing on top of another vehicle. I responded Date: Approved By: Page5of11 with these units and arrived on scene wit??m?fgviieminu es. I saw Bath Fire and EMS personnel working to extricate the Cougamsl'erfian Lji down, crushed, SUV (Unit 1) that was on top of the pickup bed om tried to stabilize the two vehicles. re separated to allow for 'Reconstfuction 0 (Unit 2), while other personnel extrication, two occupants (mothe - son Matthew Medina) were pulled out of the wrecked SUV and transported to the hospital. The driver of the Ford F- 150, Roy Ordway, appeared unhurt. In a tree near the vehicles were portions of the viaduct guardrail hanging, stuck in the branches, as well as other pieces lying on the ground near some vehicle debris. Bath Police personnel took charge of diverting traffic, which included shift change traffic, around the scene. Det. Brunelle (Bath PD) and I took photos of the lower crash scene, then I went up to take pictures of the viaduct (the actual time was 1500hrs when I took these pictures, not 1400hrs as recorded on my digital photos?l had not adjusted for daylight savings time). My first observation on the viaduct was that it was covered in a thin layer of snow. Deputy Mark Anderson of Sagadahoc County Sheriff?s Office had been the first officer up on the viaduct to secure the scene, which was eventually blocked off at both ends of the viaduct by two Maine DOT salt trucks (they?d been out salting but hadn't yet covered the viaduct). Deputy Anderson said the viaduct was covered in black ice when he first got there, but by the time lwent up (24 minutes after the crash) the road was just wet and somewhat slippery. I saw tire marks in the snow that Deputy Anderson said lined up with the broken guardrails. There were a couple other sets crossing the center line, but these appeared to have been caused by vehicles avoiding the scene. These marks were intermittent and disappeared at spots, prohibiting me from taking any type of usable measurements but did appear to be yaw-type marks, as if the vehicle had been ?fish-tailing.? The marks only showed in the thin snow and not on the cement road covering of the viaduct. The tire marks leading from the broken guardrail appeared to have been swerving in the road, and tracing them back, I could see that they originated in the southbound lane, then crossed into the oncoming northbound lane, appear to have scraped/struck the southern curb (northbound lane right side) then veered back across the center line, into Date: Approved By: Page60f11 . tt . the southbound lane once again, and mtg: E?g??cigdrail at a somewhat sharp angle, not quite perpendicular, but a direct pproaah?lrat?eg than a glancing sidelong strike. A large section (approx. 50') of The guardrail consisted of a cement portion then an aluminu the cement. The total height of Reconsirvp?un the guardrail was approximately . fiberglass tape measure). Half of this was cement, the upper half, the guardrail. At the lower portion was a small curb, prior to the cement wall that the guardrail bolted info. This curb was only a few inches wide and long. I did not see any debris on the viaduct that could have led to the crash. I took photos and spoke to DOT personnel who were waiting to salt the road. They treated the road and eventually opened both lanes back up. I returned to the lower scene and took more photos, assisted with traffic, consulted with supervisors, and watched as tow trucks came to remove the vehiCles. The top half of Unit 1 been flattened. I did see fresh scrapes and gouges in both of the front tire rims of Unit 1, indicating that they at some point hit a curb. There appeared to be some damage to the front right corner, but most of the damage was centered on a direct upside downfall, landing on its roof. Airbags had been deployed. Date: Approved By: Page7of11 ECONSTRUCTION ANALYSIS: It appeared to me that Unit 1 had lost control due to ice and crashed at a too- sharp angle into the guardrail, in a high center-of?mass SUV, into a less than 3? guardrail, causing it to flip up over the guardrail and fall vertically down on top of the Ford By landing on the bed of this truck, I believed this absorbed most of the impact forces allowing the occupants of Unit 1 to survive. While on scene, there were Date: Approved By: Page80f11 no witnesses to the pro-crash viauct I ?hgtt'?ies crah, only the fall off the viaduct and onto the Ford. April '14, 2016 mam. a! After clearing from the crash, Bath PD press release asked for witnesses. I spoke to several on 4/5/16 who reported seeing Unit 1 lose control due to the icy road and cross the center line into the northbound lane, then back into the southbound lane, into the guardrail. Witnesses say Unit 1 flipped up over the guardrail and almost balanced enough to stay on the viaduct, but momentum carried it over so if fell vertically down off the guardrail, but landing on its roof. Witnesses confirmed that the viaduct was covered in ice. One witness, Ray Dalton of Wiscasset (882?9931), said he was in front of Unit 1 as they came off the bridge and drove onto the Viaduct, southbound. Dalton said he started to feel his rear?wheels slipping, but maintained control, but said he automatically looked into his rearview mirror to see Unit 1 fishtailing, then crash into the guardrail and flipped up over it. Dalton said he thought for a moment Unit 1 would remain balanced Date: Approved By: Page 9 of 11 on the viaduct, but it didn?t. Anotwerwr Nelson, an employee at BIW, said he?d been looking out his window (BIW epinle'ering bu ding south of viaduct) at the snow and heard something or saw him look at see the underside of Unit 1 going over the guardrail oalanced on the viaduct. He said he saw Deputy Anderson stop tr? ffic and cruise slipping on the ground due to the ice. Another witness, Bill Hanson of Alna (350-2524), said he?d been a few cars ahead of Unit 1 and confirmed that the roadway was icy but that traffic speed was not excessive, rather, slower than normal due to the ice. All these reports verify that Unit 1 had lost control due to ice and crashed into the guardrail, flipping over it. A witness to the lower portion of the crash, Susan Cunio of Bath, (751-3554), said she was a the light at Washington and Leeman Hwy and saw pieces of the guardrail come crashing down, then Unit 1 falling vertically down to land on its roof on Unit 2. PTL Ross and were also able to speak to the driver, Melissa Medina, via a phone call to her in the hospital. Medina said she lost control due to ice, was not distracted, speeding, or using her cell phone. She said her son was in the front passenger seat, both wearing seatbelts. She described her injuries, as well as her sons, but said she couldn?t remember anything after losing control to waking up in the ambulance. CONCLUSIONS AND OPINION 0F INVESTIGATOR: It appears, based upon the visual physical evidence, and witness and driver accounts, that Medina (Unit 1) was driving too fast for conditions (unexpected ice), which consisted of the viaduct freezing over before the bridge and road itself, due to weather conditions at the time. Medina lost control on the ice and crashed into and then over the guardrail. have no evidence to support excessive speed, driver inattention, or intent to crash. It is reasonable to believe that their injuries would have been much more serious had they crashed onto the asphalt and not Ordway?s pickup truck, which was able to absorb and support some of the energy in the crash. ENCLOSURES: Date: Approved By: Page100f11 I D?te: Approved By: Page11of11