The Portland Police Department said Saturday it is searching for the driver of a tractor-trailer that crashed into several parked vehicles on Forest Avenue , including an unmarked car belonging to the Maine State Police, and then left the scene. A passer-by videotaped the incident.
On Friday around 7:55 a.m., a man driving the rig attempted to turn into a parking lot at 39 Forest Ave., which houses the city of Portland’s Health and Human Services Department.
The trailer of the truck hit an unoccupied parked car, which caused that car to collide with another unoccupied car, police said in a statement. The trailer then struck the building, causing minor damage to the building and significant damage to the trailer.
The truck driver then backed out with several turns and eventually struck the unmarked state police car, which was unoccupied.
Once the operator freed the vehicle, he drove away, police said.
As of Saturday, the trailer and the truck had been recovered at separate locations outside of Portland by the state police. The investigation continues and police are working to identify the operator. A person of interest has been identified, but no arrests or positive identification have yet been made, Portland police spokesman David Singer said.
Bystander Tracey Hall of Portland said she just finished a long shift as a certified nursing assistant at Maine Medical Center when she was walking home just before 8 a.m. Friday and saw the bizarre scene unfold in front of the city’s public health offices. Hall pulled out her cellphone and recorded video as the driver of the tractor-trailer repeatedly tried to back out of the parking lot next to the building, striking cars, a parking meter and the building. Some of the cars appeared to have heavy damage, Hall said.
“He knocked down the parking meter like it was a twig,” she said. She and others yelled for the driver to stop, but he didn’t respond, she said.
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to call police at 207-874-8575.
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