A motorcyclist suffered minor injuries Thursday evening when he crashed on the closed and unfinished Interstate 395 extension in Eddington.
During a routine patrol about 8 p.m., a deputy spotted the 36-year-old man speeding on a motorcycle on the I-395 extension, according to the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office.
When the deputy tried to pull the motorcyclist over, he allegedly accelerated. The motorcyclist didn’t stop when he came to a dirt portion of the road, and after traveling only a short distance, his brakes locked up as he approached a blocked portion of the road, near Route 9 in Eddington.
The motorcycle tipped over, and the driver fell off, the sheriff’s office said.
He wasn’t wearing a helmet, but received only minor cuts in the fall.
The motorcyclist was out on bail and had a suspended license.
Speed and alcohol are considered factors in the crash.
It’s just the latest instance of someone using the closed I-395 extension, according to the sheriff’s office, which has received numerous complaints recently about that.
“The new 395 extension road is closed. No motorists, recreational vehicles or pedestrians should be utilizing this road. The road is well marked with barriers and closed road signage,” the sheriff’s office said.
The six-mile road will connect I-395 to Route 9. Construction benefited from the warmer winter, but the road won’t be open to traffic until late next summer.
