GRAY — State troopers were investigating a turnpike crash between mile marker 65 in Gray and south of the New Gloucester toll Monday afternoon, officials said.

Robert Padilla, 39 of Waterville was traveling south on Interstate 95 around 1:24 p.m. in his 2019 Ford F-150 when he used the median to pass a vehicle in front of him, a black 2025 GMC 1500 pickup truck, Shannon Moss, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson, said.

Padilla cut the GMC off, clipping it in the process, and causing its unnamed driver to sustain minor injuries, Moss said. As a result of striking the truck, Padilla’s vehicle went off the road and into a ditch.

Moss said Padilla fled from the vehicle crossing southbound and northbound traffic before cutting back across southbound traffic and fleeing into the woods.

Cumberland County Sheriff’s deputies responded with a K-9 team and quickly tracked Padilla down, Moss said.

Moss said she did not know how fast either vehicle was traveling or why Padilla attempted to pass in the median instead of the other lanes. She said the crash remains under investigation.

Padilla was transported to a hospital for an evaluation and charges are pending, Moss said.