BOWDOINHAM
While Bowdoinham Fire Department was still at the scene of a structure fire on Wildes Road early Friday morning, a second call came in about a tractor-trailer truck crash on Interstate 295 southbound near mile marker 42.
The Richmond Fire Department responded As part of a mutual aid agreement.
Maine State Trooper Kyle Pelletier said he received the call at 1:20 a.m. He said a male driver, Troy Packard, 38, of Union, was driving a tractortrailer truck for the cement company he works for to Massachusetts to pick up materials used to make cement.
At some point between mile markers 43 and 42, Packard fell asleep at the wheel, drifted off the roadway to the left, and woke up about 10 feet from the guardrail, according to Pelletier. Realizing he was about to hit the guardrail, the driver pressed on his brakes, which resulted in the trailer jackknifing off the roadway and into the guardrail.
The truck removed approximately 50 to 75 feet of guardrail near mile marker 43. No other vehicles were involved, and Packard was not injured during the crash. Pelletier believes both the guardrails and soft soil that collected around the tires as the truck jackknifed and helped keep the vehicle from flipping. When it came to rest, the truck and trailer were perpendicular to the roadway.
Pelletier said Packard had just stopped in Gardiner to get fuel. As a result of contact with the guardrail, the truck spilled approximately 150 gallons of diesel fuel onto the roadway.
The Department of Environmental Protection checked the area and informed Pelletier that an inspector would return later in the day. The majority of the fuel spilled on the roadway, so workers spread sand over the spill to prevent it from contaminating nearby property and making the road slick, Pelletier said.
Pelletier cleared the scene at around 3:30 a.m. Friday. No charges were filed against Packard.
With the Bowdoinham Fire Department dealing with a fire on Wildes Road, Richmond Fire Chief Andrew Pierce said his department responded to the crash to provide scene safety, and said the interstate southbound was closed for roughly 45 minutes so crews could remove the truck. Pierce estimated that the Richmond Fire Department was on scene for about three hours.
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