Kennebunk, ME — March 14, 2025, Kelly Adams was injured in a truck accident at about 8:50 a.m. on northbound Interstate 95.
Authorities said a 2019 Nissan SUV crashed into the back end of a 2022 Toyota SUV, then hit a 2004 Freightliner semi-truck that was stopped in the highway’s breakdown lane.
Nissan driver Kelly Adams, 45, was hospitalized with serious injuries after the crash, according to authorities.
The Toyota driver was taken to the hospital for evaluation, and the truck driver was not injured, authorities said.
Authorities have not released any additional information about the York County crash at this time. The accident is still being investigated.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
When a vehicle rear-ends one car and then strikes a semi-truck parked in the breakdown lane, the key legal issue is whether that truck was properly stopped and visible, and whether anything about its position contributed to the severity of the crash. While the immediate focus may fall on the Nissan driver’s actions, the presence of a commercial truck on the shoulder adds an important layer of legal scrutiny.
According to the report, the crash began with a rear-end collision between two SUVs, after which the Nissan struck a Freightliner that was parked in the breakdown lane. In most situations, shoulders are reserved for emergencies only, and even then, commercial trucks are expected to follow specific safety protocols when stopping on the side of a highway. That includes using hazard lights, reflective triangles, and making sure the vehicle is far enough from the travel lane to reduce risk.
The investigation should begin by determining whether the truck was there due to an actual emergency — such as a mechanical failure — or whether it was stopped for a non-urgent reason, like a rest break or to check a map. If it turns out the truck was parked without sufficient cause or wasn’t properly marked, that could create liability, especially if its presence created a hazard in an area where traffic was already unstable following the initial collision.
At the same time, the sequence started when the Nissan rear-ended the Toyota. That’s a strong indication that the Nissan driver was either distracted, following too closely or not adjusting for traffic conditions. In most cases, rear-end collisions stem from a failure to maintain a safe distance. Whether the crash into the truck could have been avoided had the initial collision not occurred is something investigators will need to determine by analyzing physical evidence, vehicle data, and potentially dashcam footage.
The fact that the truck was struck after the first impact suggests the Nissan driver lost control after the initial collision. That doesn’t mean the truck was to blame, but it does mean its location becomes a contributing factor worth examining. The investigation should include a review of the truck’s hazard lights, its distance from the travel lane and whether it was parked according to regulations governing emergency stops for commercial vehicles.
In these kinds of crashes, the outcome often hinges on the small decisions drivers make: where to stop, how closely to follow, how quickly to react. A commercial vehicle on the shoulder may seem removed from the flow of traffic, but when things go wrong, even vehicles technically off the road can become part of the chain of events. That’s why the law demands strict compliance from commercial drivers when they stop along a highway. Because in situations like this, whether a crash ends in injury — or something worse — often comes down to whether those safety steps were taken.
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