Baby girl fatally struck by tow truck after wandering into roadway

CHELSEA, Maine - Tragedy struck in Central Maine on Wednesday when a tow truck struck a toddler who had wandered out in the road.

Maine State Police Troopers responded to Windsor Road in Chelsea around 2:25 p.m. for a report of a child struck by a tow truck. After troopers arrived on scene, it was determined that a 62-year-old male driver from Chelsea was traveling northbound on Windsor Road in his 2007 GMC flatbed tow truck when he struck a child. The child, who was just 21 months old, was playing outside a residence on Windsor Road when she wandered into the roadway and laid down, the Maine Dept. of Safety said in a statement Wednesday night.

The driver did not realize that it was a child laying in the road until the vehicle struck her, according to safety officials. Troopers and witnesses performed CPR until Chelsea Fire and Gardiner Rescue arrived on scene.

The child was transported to Maine General Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Troopers continue to investigate the crash. No further information is available at this time.