Late Wednesday morning, a tractor-trailer truck flipped over and dumped its load of dirt in a gully by the intersection of routes 25 and 113 in Standish.
Driven by Rick Kennedy, of Yarmouth, the truck had been heading west on Route 25 when it tipped over sideways onto the driver’s side as Kennedy turned north onto Route 113.
“I took a couple of minutes and felt to see if I was all right,” Kennedy said. “Then I climbed out the passenger door.”
Kennedy, who has been driving a semi for 25 years, said he’d never experienced a rollover before. One of the trailer’s wheels had blown but Kennedy was uncertain whether that happened before or after the truck began to flip.
According to Standish Fire Chief Martin Jordan, although the truck’s load was harmless, Standish Fire/Rescue used absorbent pads, clay and dyking to contain about 50 gallons of hydraulic fluid that leaked from the truck. There was no fuel leak.
In addition to local Fire/Rescue units, Maine State Police responded to reconstruct the accident and determine its cause. Their results were not available at press time.
Standish resident Cindy Hopkins owns New Beginnings Consignment Shop, located just down Route 113 from the scene of Wednesday’s rollover. The accident blocked traffic for hours from accessing Hopkins’ store, which was open for the first time on a Wednesday since before Christmas.
Despite her frustration, Hopkins was optimistic: “The good news is it wasn’t an oil tanker truck.”
But she added that it’s a dangerous intersection and she often hears car horns and screeching brakes – especially in the wintertime.
Wednesday’s accident closed the intersection for several hours.
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