A Maine man was killed Wednesday night after he crashed his minivan into a state police cruiser and was thrown from his vehicle.
State police said Trooper Ryan Murry was parked in his marked cruiser off the road in a gravel turnout off Route 180 in Ellsworth just after 7:30 p.m. when his cruiser was struck by a vehicle.
Preliminary investigation indicates that 43-year-old Jonathan Wood, of Winter Harbor, was driving south on Route 180 in a Toyota Sienna when his minivan crossed the roadway and then traveled into the dirt turnout, striking Murry's cruiser. The minivan rolled over, and Wood was ejected from the vehicle, according to police.
Wood was not wearing a seatbelt, and died at the scene from his injuries.
Murry sustained minor injuries in the crash and was treated and released from a local hospital.
Ellsworth police and fire and a state police crash reconstructionist responded to the scene. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Ellsworth, with a population of about 8,400, is located in Downeast Maine, about 20 miles from Bar Harbor.
