A Biddeford man was killed Sunday after losing control of his SUV and trailer in snowy conditions and crashing on Interstate 95 southbound in the northern, rural part of the state.

Norman Ayotte, 55, was driving his Chevrolet Tahoe and towing a trailer for all-terrain vehicles when he crashed into the median at mile marker 233 in Township 2, Range 9, at about 9 a.m. on Sunday, according to state police. They said he was driving too fast for the snowy conditions.

Ayotte was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from his vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

“He lost control. The vehicle ended up going into the median,” Trooper Thomas Fiske said on Monday. “It began fishtailing and the trailer swung around, carrying the momentum of the Tahoe, and he couldn’t recover.”

Ayotte and his passenger, Wayne Howard, also 55, of Arundel, were returning from a hunting trip at Howard’s property in the town of Smyrna Mills, which is located about 12 miles from the Canadian border at Houlton, Fiske said.

Howard, who was wearing a seat belt, was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

State police responded to the scene along with rescue crews from Lincoln and East Millinocket.

Scott Dolan can be reached at 791-6304 or at:sdolan@pressherald.comTwitter: @scottddolan


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