A police sergeant inside Maine was killed early Thursday morning in an accident on the The Piscataqua River Bridge. Biddeford police Sgt. Jacob Wolterbeek was heading south to his home in Portsmouth, New Hampshire when he crashed into a box truck, Maine State Police said.
Authorities said the box truck was stopped in traffic on the Maine side of the Interstate 95 bridge that connects the two states. Traffic on the bridge was at a standstill due to another accident that occurred in New Hampshire, police said. Troopers responded to the bridge crash just after 1 a.m
Wolterbeek, who was driving a Toyota Camry, was pronounced dead at the scene. The southbound lanes were closed for several hours Thursday morning and the crash remains under investigation.
Jacob Wolterbeek dies in crash on I-95
Biddeford Police Chief JoAnne Fisk called Wolterbeek’s death a “tragic accident.” The 41-year-old is survived by his wife and three young children.
Biddeford Police
Wolterbeek was an 18-year veteran of the force. First responders gathered at overpasses along the Maine Turnpike to honor Wolterbeek in a procession held later Thursday morning, WGME-TV reported.
“Time of Sorrow”
“Sergeant Wolterbeek was a respected member of the Biddeford Police Department and a valued employee of the community,” Fisk said in a statement. “At this time of sorrow, our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and colleagues of Sergeant Wolterbeek.”
According to a Facebook post from the City of Biddeford in September, Wolterbeek was recently promoted to sergeant.
