Maine State Police have identified the man killed in a crash on the Maine Turnpike Thursday morning as 30-year-old Michael A. Cantara of Saco.

Police say Cantara’s car was traveling northbound at about 6:30 a.m. when it went off the road near mile 37 and slammed into a speed limit sign and continued on for about 20 feet into the woods in Saco. He was killed instantly, according to a spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

Troopers are still investigating the cause of the crash and were questioning the driver of a silver BMW who may have witnessed it. Police have given no other information about what role the BMW might have played in the incident.

The crash caused moderate backups on the highway and at the Saco entrance ramp and toll booth, the Maine Turnpike Authority said.

Cantara, the victim, is not related to the former Commissioner of Public Safety and current judge, Michael P. Cantara.

Anyone with additional information is asked to call the state police at 657-3030.


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