MAINE — A summary of seconds. Aside from a vehicle accident that caused a fuel truck to catch fire, this week’s Maine crime and crash wrap-up includes incidences similar to last week’s summary: A second trooper suffered injuries while sitting in his cruiser on the shoulder of the turnpike. Another investigation is occurring after two people were found dead, and another victim was found dead following a fire.

Read the State Police reports below.

January 2

A tanker truck hauling 9500 gallons number two fuel oil was engulfed in flames, Wednesday, Jan. 2, in Belgrade.

Route 27 has been shut down in Belgrade, near the intersection of Route 135 , following the collision of the tanker truck and another vehicle.

Firefighters from a number of fire departments have been allowing the fuel oil to burn at the crash site. Smoke from the crash site could be seen for miles, according to State Police.

Once the fire is manageable, motorists can again use Route 27, by way of a short detour, which was will likely to take place early in the afternoon.

Mark Tuttle, 54, of Albion who was operating a J&S Oil tractor trailer, headed north on Route 27. Robert Engdahl, 74, of Winthrop, was driving a 2005 GMC Yukonan sport utility vehicle.

Troopers said Engdahl stopped at the stop sign at the intersection of Routes 8 and 11, and then drove in front on the oncoming tractor trailer. 

Engdahl’s SUV struck the tanker truck, which overturned. A fire started and both vehicles were destroyed.

Both drivers had minor injuries and were transported to Maine General. Engdahl has been treated and released and Tuttle also was expected to be released today.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has been on scene, as well as many other agencies.

State Police cited Engdahl for failing to yield the right of way. 

Route 27 reopened just after noon with a detour around the crash site, via Cemetery Road.  The crash site was expected to be cleaned up by late afternoon.

January 1

State Police continue to investigate the deaths of a man and woman found inside a downtown South Paris apartment.

Police were called to the apartment about 8:30, Tuesday night, by a man who knows the couple.

Heather Bickford and Dana Hill, both 31, were found deceased in a first floor apartment, next door to the Market Square Restaurant, which is in the center of the downtown South Paris. 

Hill was renting the apartment. Bickford is from Canton.

Bickford's two children, ages eight and two months, were also in the apartment and have now been placed in the custody of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. The children were not injured. 

State Police detectives have been assisted at the scene by the Paris Police Department, the Oxford County Sheriff's Office, and a team of State Police evidence technicians.

Autopsies on the bodies will begin this morning at the State Medical Examiner's Office in Augusta.      

 
 
December 29

The State Fire Marshal's Office said that the victim in an overnight fire in Acton is believed to be 28-year-old Edward Roberts. Fire swept Robert's second floor apartment late Saturday night, destroying a garage the second floor apartment above the garage on Hopper Road.

The fire was reported by neighbors and passing motorists. By the time firefighters arrived on the scene, the apartment was engulfed in flames.

Robert’s body was recovered from the rubble early Sunday morning by a team of fire investigators. 

Fire investigators say no cause for the fire has been determined and more work will need to be done. The body was transported to the State Medical Examiner's Office in Augusta for autopsy.

Work continued Sunday morning by that team to investigate the cause of the fire.

 
December 28
 
The State Fire Marshal's Office said the fire that badly damaged a downtown Gardiner building Friday morning was caused by a faulty ceiling light.

Fire Investigators say the fire started in the ceiling in one of the four offices on the second floor.

Investigators pinpointed the cause to a florescent light and determined the fire to be accidental.
 
 
 
December 28
 
State Police say for the second time in just over a week, a Maine State Trooper has been injured when his cruiser was struck from behind by a second vehicle on the Maine Turnpike.

Trooper Ryan Keller was parked in the breakdown lane at mile 70 in New Gloucester, observing ice build up on the road, with his emergency lights activated. At about 5:30 p.m., a car driven by 22-year-old Nancy Colson, of Topsham, went out of control and struck the rear of the cruiser, forcing it into a guardrail. 

The cruiser, a Ford Explorer, was demolished in the wreck.

Keller and Colson were both taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston with non life-threatening injuries.

Keller is an 18-year veteran of the State Police, and is assigned to Troop G, which patrols the turnpike.

Maine's Move Over Law requires motorists to move over when police, fire, ambulance and wrecker lights are activated. The law is designed to give those emergency workers additional room along the side of the road.  
 
The crash took place in the same area where Trooper John Davis was injured when his cruiser was struck by a tractor trailer last Friday morning. 

He, too, was in the breakdown lane with the cruiser's emergency lights activated. That crash involved a tractor trailer truck which also did not move over.

Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com