Background: The crash scene in Waterville, Maine (WABI/YouTube). Inset: Samantha Tupper (Kennebec County Jail).
A Maine woman is facing criminal charges after authorities say her minivan struck several state transportation workers in a highway construction zone, killing two of them while two children were riding in the vehicle.
Samantha Tupper, 34, was charged with two counts of manslaughter in connection with the deaths of James Brown, 60, and Dwayne Campbell, 51, Maine State Police (MSP) announced. She also faces two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of aggravated assault.
Tupper was taken to the Kennebec County Jail following her arrest. A judge later reduced her bail to $6,500, which she posted, according to regional CBS affiliate WABI.
The crash occurred around 9:30 a.m. Jan. 13 on I-95 in Waterville, a city in south-central Maine. Police said Tupper was driving a gray Kia minivan with two young children inside.
At the time, Brown, Campbell and at least one other Maine Department of Transportation employee were working along the interstate. One lane had been closed, and a stop sign was in place for bridge construction, authorities said.
According to investigators, Tupper “failed to stop at the posted stop sign and then attempted to enter the passing lane” of I-95. A tractor-trailer then hit the minivan, forcing it into the work area and into the transportation crew.
“The impact propelled two of the workers over the bridge and onto Kennedy Memorial Drive below,” MSP said. Brown and Campbell died in the crash. A third worker was taken to a nearby hospital with injuries described as non-life-threatening.
The two children were not injured. Tupper was transported to a medical center for treatment of injuries authorities also characterized as non-life-threatening. Officials have not said whether the children were hers.
The driver of the tractor-trailer was not hurt.
Tupper’s next court appearance had not been scheduled or publicly identified.
The post Woman with kids in her minivan smashes into transportation workers in work zone, sending them ‘over the bridge’ to their deaths: Police first appeared on Law & Crime.
