FARMINGTON — A Manchester man was seriously injured Tuesday afternoon when the Maine Department of Transportation van he was driving hit the back of a tractor-trailer on Route 2, near Hammond Lumber.

Aaron Buotte, 32, did not see a UPS truck that was stopping in front of him, according to Sgt. Edward Hastings IV of the Farmington Police Department.

The vehicles were headed east, toward New Sharon.

The UPS tractor-trailer was driven by Galen Cyr, 47, of Manchester, Connecticut, Hastings said. Cyr was not injured.

Farmington firefighters removed Buotte from the van, he said. The passenger compartment of the van was pushed in.

A LifeFlight medical helicopter landed in a field near Hammond Lumber and brought Buotte to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.

The accident occurred at about 2:30 p.m., closing Route 2 until about 4:30 p.m.

Hastings said the crash remained under investigation.

Maine State Police Commercial Enforcement Unit and a State Police reconstruction unit assisted at the scene. 

The 2019 Freightliner tractor-trailer received minor damage to the rear bumper and was driven from the scene.

The 2107 Dodge 2,500 DOT van was badly damaged, Hastings said. 

dperry@sunmediagroup.net

Farmington police, fire and rescue personnel assist Tuesday afternoon at a rear-end collision involving a state highway department van and a UPS tractor-trailer on Route 2 in Farmington. Aaron Buotte, 32, of Manchester, who was driving the van, suffered serious injuries and was taken by LifeFlight helicopter to Central Maine Medical Center a Lewiston. (Sun Journal photo by Donna Perry)