A man and a woman were killed and four children were injured in a crash on the Maine Turnpike early Wednesday morning in the town of New Gloucester after their stopped vehicle was hit by an SUV.
The crash was reported at 4:26 a.m. near mile marker 17 on the southbound side of the interstate highway.
Based on a preliminary investigation, Maine State Police said a 2017 GMC Acadia with two adults and four children, aged 7 to 14, was towing a U-Haul trailer when the trailer disconnected from the ball hitch so that it was only connected by safety chains.
The driver pulled onto the right shoulder and stopped with the trailer still partially in the roadway, police said.
The male driver, adult female passenger and two of the four children got out of the vehicle to fix the trailer when a 2015 Audi SUV crashed into the trailer and the GMC from behind, police said.
The woman was pronounced deceased at the scene. The man was taken to Maine Medical Center with critical injuries where he later died.
All four children suffered minor injuries and were taken to Maine Medical Center.
The driver of the Audi, a man from Wales, sustained minor injuries. He was treated at Maine Medical Center and released.
No charges are being filed against the driver at this time, police said.
Police have not yet identified any of the people involved in the crash or their relationship to one another.
