GRAY — An elderly man was seriously hurt and traffic was snarled Wednesday afternoon after a car and tractor-trailer collided at the Route 26 bypass.

The Maine Turnpike Authority shut down the busy Route 26A bypass between Routes 202 and 26 following the 3 p.m. collision.

Cumberland County Early reports were that John Watson, the 83-year-old driver of the car, had been seriously hurt in the collision. Police were reconstructing the crash site later on Wednesday.

Sheriff Kevin Joyce says Watson hit a guardrail and crossed into the opposite travel lane before colliding with the tractor trailer. The truck ran over top of Watson’s vehicle, crushing it.

The MTA put out several alerts late Wednesday afternoon, advising drivers that the bypass was closed and that delays had been reported nearby on the turnpike.

The driver of the tractor trailer was not harmed.

Joyce says it appears Watson may have suffered a medical incident before the crash.

The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the crash. The bypass was reopened to traffic shortly after 7 p.m.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.