A Maine State Police trooper was hurt Friday afternoon when his cruiser was struck from behind by a second vehicle on the Maine Turnpike.

It was the second time in just over a week that a trooper was hurt in a crash while stopped in a breakdown lane.

At about 5:30 p.m., Trooper Ryan Keller was parked in the breakdown lane at mile 70 in New Gloucester, his emergency lights activated, as he examined ice build-up on the road, police said.

Maine Public Safety Spokesman Stephen McCausland said that while Keller was parked, a car driven by Nancy Colson, 22, of Topsham, went out of control and struck the rear of the cruiser, forcing it into a guardrail.

The crash took place in the same area where Trooper John Davis was injured when his cruiser was struck by a tractor-trailer last Friday morning. He too was in the breakdown lane with the cruiser’s emergency lights activated, police said. 

Keller and Colson were taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston with injuries that were not life-threatening.

Police said the cruiser, a Ford Explorer, was demolished in the wreck. Keller is an 18-year veteran of the state police and is assigned to Troop G, which patrols the turnpike.

A state police trooper was hurt Friday when his cruiser was struck while parked in a breakdown lane on the Maine Turnpike in New Gloucester. (Submitted photo)