A rush-hour traffic accident Wednesday evening on Tukey’s Bridge in Portland slowed traffic for more than an hour as Maine State Police sent two people to the hospital with minor injuries and had a towing company haul their car off the bridge.

Trooper John Kyle said the accident, which affected northbound traffic only, was caused by a driver who was going too fast and following the pickup truck in front of him too closely.

Kyle said Hassan Alhashimi, 45, of Portland hit a pickup driven by Seth Hagar, 36, of Damariscotta from the rear. The collision destroyed Alhashimi’s 2001 Ford Focus. He and his son, Yousif Alhashimi, 22, were taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland as a precaution.

Kyle said two northbound lanes on the three-lane bridge remained open, but the closed lane was enough to back up traffic beyond the Forest Avenue exit. The accident was reported at 4:43 p.m.

“The volume of traffic is so heavy at that time of day that any type of disturbance can cause traffic to backup,” Kyle said.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.