BRUNSWICK — A tractor-trailer truck temporarily blocked Pleasant Street this morning after running over a fire hydrant while maneuvering to reverse directions, Brunswick police said.
No one was injured as a result of the incident.
The incident was reported at 10:03 a.m. Officer Patrick Mahar arrived on scene first, within about two minutes, according to Lt. Tom Garrepy, who also responded to the traffic snarl.
Garrepy said the 53-foot tractor-trailer was headed inbound on Pleasant Street. The driver, 59-year-old Gary Williams of Tazewell, Tenn., attempted a left turn to make the turnaround headed back toward Interstate 295. He cut the corner a little bit too sharply, Garrepy said, and ran over a fire hydrant.
The trailer’s rear tandem wheels severed the fire hydrant, and the hydrant severed the air brake lines of the trailer, causing its rear brakes to lock.
Williams tried to get the truck into the breakdown lane but ended up with the vehicle both lanes, causing traffic to back near the Church Road intersection along Pleasant Street.
Before police had to begin diverting traffic, two other truck drivers came upon the scene and helped Williams get his truck out of the roadway and into the breakdown lane, where it awaited Hunters Wrecker Service.
Garrepy estimates the road was blocked for about 10 minutes.
Williams, who was driving for Roehl Transport Inc., of Marshfield, Wis., was not charged. The trailer was empty.
The town’s water district responded and will have to replace the hydrant, which is designed to break off when hit to minimize damage to the piping beneath it.
dmoore@timesrecord.com
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