AUBURN, Maine — Blinding sun and heavy glare contributed to a series of crashes on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge on Thursday morning, according to officials.

Officers were dispatched at 7:42 a.m. and arrived to find four separate crashes involving 12 vehicles on the Auburn side of the bridge, Auburn police said in a social media post. The first crash happened in the eastbound lanes after traffic stopped because of an earlier incident on the Lewiston side near the Main Street overpass, the post stated.

Witnesses told officers that sun glare made it difficult for drivers to see, contributing to multiple rear-end collisions. Three of the crashes occurred on the bridge itself, police said.

The fourth crash happened on Center Street at the entrance to the bridge, where a driver trying

See Full Page