MOSCOW — Five people, including a baby, were taken to the hospital Thursday after a logging truck flipped over, hitting a sport utility vehicle with its load on U.S. Route 201.
The accident happened about 3:30 p.m. when the southbound tractor-trailer, belonging to C.M. Gray Trucking out of Milo, blew a left tire and the driver lost control on a stretch of Route 201 – Canada Road – where it goes through northern Somerset County. The tree-length logs spilled onto the northbound SUV, according to Chief Deputy Dale Lancaster of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department.
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The driver of the 2011 Lexus SUV, a man, along with two women and an infant who were passengers, were trapped inside and had to be extricated, he said. The women, infant, and the driver of the tractor-trailer were taken by ambulance to Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan. The driver of the SUV was taken by helicopter to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor
Names were not available Thursday night, but Lancaster said none of the injuries are believed to be life-threatening. The SUV was destroyed in the crash, he said.
It took rescue crews almost two hours to remove the driver of the SUV.
The accident remains under investigation and it is not clear yet whether there will be charges, said Lancaster.
Paula Foster, who lives near the accident scene at 655 Canada Road, said she felt her house shake and heard what sounded like a loud explosion.
“I saw a truck across the road and immediately called 911,” said Foster. “Then I came back outside and thought I saw another vehicle. Sure enough there was.”
All the occupants of the car were conscious and able to talk when firefighters arrived on scene, said Bingham Fire Chief Scott Lawyerson.
Maine State Police, the Jackman Fire Department and several emergency medical personnel also responded to the scene.
Rachel Ohm can be contacted at 612-2368 or at:
rohm@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @rachel_ohm
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