DIXFIELD — Messy weather on Thursday morning created traffic mayhem across western Maine, flipping one tractor-trailer on Route 2 and sending another careering through a Route 108 cemetery in Peru, destroying several headstones.

A pregnant Rumford woman who spent Wednesday night in Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington trying unsuccessfully to give birth, had a contraction on the drive home, causing her to lose control on Route 2, Dixfield police Chief Richard A. Pickett said.

He said Crystal Buotte of Spruce Street wasn't injured, nor did she give birth after her car slid 50 to 60 feet through snow down an embankment. Buotte declined medical treatment on scene, telling Pickett she would return to a hospital.

By 6 p.m. Thursday, heavy snow had cut electricity to 3,758 Central Maine Power customers statewide, of which, 1,477 were in the Farmington and Kingfield area of Franklin County, a CMP dispatcher said.

There had been no power outages in Androscoggin County, but 221 customers had lost power in Oxford County.

Wednesday night's snow mixed with heavy sleet and ice by Thursday morning, prompting the Maine Emergency Management Agency to issue a warning to drivers about dangerous weather that will continue into the weekend.

"It's critical to stay tuned to National Weather Service and local forecasts for your area, because the hazards will be different depending on where you are," said Rob McAleer, director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency.

In Dixfield on Thursday morning, drivers had to contend with icy, slushy, snow-covered roads while heavy sleet and snow fell.

At 6:45 a.m., Jonathan Morrell, 43, of Guilford was driving a tractor-trailer west on Route 2 when he swerved toward a drainage ditch to avoid a head-on collision with a car that slid into his lane, Pickett said.

Maine Department of Transportation plow trucks "hadn't come by yet, so roads were really nothing but slop,” Pickett said.

Morrell was driving a load of birch boards stacked in pallets on a flatbed trailer to the Saunders mill in Locke Mills for Ernest R. Palmer Lumber Co. Inc. of Sangerville.

Morrell stopped the truck on the roadside, removed his safety belt and was getting out when the rig suddenly flipped on its side, flinging Morrell back through the cab and out the passenger side, Pickett said.

“This was not the truck driver's fault at all,” Pickett said. “He got off the road as far as he could to avoid what would have been a nasty accident.”

Pickett estimated damage to the tractor cab, which is owned by Shane M. Perkins Sr. of S & R Trucking in Abbott, at between $4,000 and $5,000.

Route 2 was shut down for several hours and traffic detoured by Dixfield firefighters and MDOT crews onto the very muddy Old Canton Point Road while loggers Bob Richardson and Tim Sicotte of Rumford cleaned up the mess.

M/T Pockets Towing of Dixfield righted the rig and Morrell, who suffered minor injuries, drove it away, Pickett said.

Later, the M/T Pockets crew was sent to Route 108 in Peru where Stephen Buateng, 48, of Nashua, N.H., drove an 18-wheel tractor-trailer through Demerritt Cemetery.

Buateng managed to keep the rig upright, but destroyed a dozen or more headstones from the early 20th century.

Maine State Police Trooper Kyle Tilsley said Buateng had just picked up 19 short rolls of paper from the Rumford paper mill, NewPage Inc., and headed east on Route 108 when the rig failed to negotiate a curve.

“It looks like he came down around that hill and never turned,” Tilsley said. “He just kept right on going into the cemetery.

Tilsley attributed the accident to road conditions, defective tires on the tractor-trailer — steel was showing through one bare tire — and speed. Buateng wasn't injured.

Rumford police were kept busy Thursday afternoon with a series of minor accidents due to slick roads caused by heavy sleet and snow.

In one accident, on Route 2 in neighboring Hanover near Top Hat Antiques, Nicola Whitman, 49, of Cumberland Street, Rumford, slid off the road and into a ditch as she was driving east, Officer Lawrence Winson said. A passenger, Joshua Melville, 19, of Mexico, sustained minor injuries and was taken by ambulance to Rumford Hospital.

 tkarkos@sunjournal.com

Staff writer Eileen Adams contributed to this report.

Gov't officials urge: safety first.

AUGUSTA — The Maine Emergency Management Agency is urging residents to put safety uppermost as a mixed bag of dangerous weather will continue to affect the state into the weekend.

With high winds predicted for Thursday afternoon and evening, power outages are expected to increase, MEMA Director Rob McAleer said.

On Thursday morning, MEMA, county emergency management agencies, utilities and state response agencies were briefed by the National Weather Service.

"Emergency managers and utilities statewide have put response contingency plans together for the next few days, and individuals, families and businesses should, too." McAleer said.

People are reminded to:

* Monitor weather forecasts closely for expected conditions in their area.

* Stay clear of flooded roadways. Respect all barricades and report flooded areas to local officials.

* Use extreme care driving in wintry conditions. Stay off the roads if possible.

* If the power goes out, use generators and alternative heat sources safely. Never run a generator in a basement or attached garage. Carbon monoxide poisoning may result.

* Continue to keep roofs clear of snow. Snowfall may be heavy and wet. Make sure heating system vents are clear to prevent carbon monoxide from backing up in the home.

* Protect outside oil tanks from snow and ice falling from the roof. Serious oil spills can result.

* Check on neighbors, family and friends who may need special assistance to clear snow and to weather the storm

McAleer said headwater areas of major rivers, such as the Androscoggin, Saco and Kennebec, are receiving snow from the storms, so flooding on these rivers is not expected.

However, ice jams remain in areas of Franklin and Piscataquis counties, and these areas will be monitored closely, McAleer said.

Important phone numbers and Web sites are:

* Urgent emergency assistance: Dial 911.

* Report power outages to your electrical utility.

* Road conditions: Dial 511 or visit http://www.511maine.gov.

* Emergency shelter locations (if needed) and other referrals: Dial 211

* Safety and preparedness information and links to weather forecasts: http://www.maineprepares.com.