BENTON — A Rhode Island man remained in critical condition Wednesday night after crashing his truck Tuesday night in the median strip on Interstate 95 in Benton.

Gilbert Dubois, 48, of Mapleville, Rhode Island, veered off the highway and crashed into a stand of trees shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday, according to Maine State Trooper John York.

Dubois was taken to MaineGeneral’s Thayer Center for Health in Waterville before being transferred to Maine Medical Center in Portland with life-threatening injuries, York said. Late Wednesday afternoon he said Dubois was in critical condition.

The crash happened on the highway near the Bellsqueeze Road overpass in Benton, York said. Dubois was driving a 1998 Toyota pickup truck. According to a woman who was driving behind him, Dubois was traveling in the right-side travel lane and veered into the passing lane before driving off the roadway, narrowly missing a guardrail.

The truck continued for roughly 150 yards in the ditch before striking a tree and overturning, York said.

Crews from the Fairfield-Benton Fire Department and Delta Ambulance, as well as state police, went to the scene, and Dubois had to be extricated from the vehicle, York said.

Investigators are unsure what caused the crash and the investigation is still open, he said.

“There was no clear cause for him to leave the roadway,” York said. “Thousands of people drove by that same spot with no issues.”


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