RUMFORD — The driver of a fully-loaded logging truck escaped serious injury Friday morning when the rig rolled over at the foot of Falls Hill on Route 2, spilling logs into the Frost Motor Supply store.
Two windows and a portion of the Frost Motor Supply building were damaged early Friday morning when logs from a tractor-trailer heading up Falls Hill on Route 2 in Rumford came flying through as the rig overturned.
Kenny Briggette points out where a log crashed through his business, Frost Motor Supply, early Friday morning. No one was in the store when the logging truck rolled over at the foot of Falls Hill on Route 2 and hurling logs into the store.
Rumford Police Department Sgt. Tracey Higley said speed was apparently a factor in the accident that injured Danny Long, 39, of Bethel.
Long was taken to Rumford Hospital by Med-Care Ambulance Service where he was treated and released.
“This is the fourth time in my career that the store has been damaged,” Higley said.
No one was in the store when the accident occurred at 7:20 a.m.
Frost Motor Supply owner Kenny Briggette said logs flew through the windows and into the store, causing an estimated $35,000 to $40,000 damage.
Carpenters immediately covered the broken windows so the business could reopen at 11 a.m. The phone line was also knocked out but Briggette said he was able to have it up and running thanks to his friend Jim Thibodeau.
He said in his 20 years as owner of the store, numerous vehicles and materials have crashed into it, including several autos, a load of steel, two rolls of paper, unfinished planks and other materials.
The business is insured.
The road was closed for about two-and-a-half hours, and damage to the truck and business was estimated at about $90,000, he said. The truck was owned by A & B Forestry and Equipment of Rumford.
Kendric Thibodeau logging helped clean up the logs. Also responding to the accident were the Rumford Fire Department and Public Works Department, Maine State Police and M-T Pockets garage.
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at its best. I remember when the Falls Hill was being reconstructed. People were concerned back then and asking why are they not taking away that 90 degree at the bottom. Could it be changed now? Don"t see why not. The mishaps can prove the design was wrong. We have a board of selectpersons and a town manager who should be pushing DOT to do something about it. Good points have been made for driver error also. Many of of same drivers drive that area everyday and know the danger of high speeds around that corner. Put those drivers together with poor design and your asking for trouble. It has been proven far to many times.
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YOU SHOULD BE IN FARMI9NGTON ON RT4-2 @ HANNAFORD AND BY THE HOSPITAL RT4-2-133 THEY ALWAYS GO THRU THE RED LIGHT BUTB IF IT WAS U AOM DOING THAT WE WOULD GET A TICKET SO FAST IT WOULD MAKE YOUR HEAD SPIN...by farmington`s finest...NOT
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There is a secondary signal light as a vehicle approaches the island on route 108. The light can be seen from the middle of the bridge. The only way to run a red light, is to speed up when you see the light turn yellow. If you are going the posted 25 mph speed limit, there is ample time and distance for a vehicle to stop.
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I have checked it out also, Kevin. I have to disagree with you. you cannot see any light un til you are approaching the corner of the Muskie Bulding. At best, you can see it as you are coming off the end of the bridge. I appreciate that you actually went and looked. That is more than most posters here would bother to do. I do still have to disagree with you on the visibility of the traffic light. Also, that light is not an advanced warning light. It is at the intersection.
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What I am seeing here is that you all still just want to sit there and complain and do nothing except demand that the "authorities" that Kevin mentioned do more. The "authorities" would be the Rumford Police Department. The same department that everybody wants to cut. Complaining off the cuff without researching. Did you know that it is harder to stop an empty truck than it is to stop a loaded truck? An accident with a loaded truck is usually more devastating, granted, but I wonder how many of you realize this. As a side note, I have news for you. People in cars run that light also. It just doesn't make the news as much as a truck accident does. Yes, there are bad truck drivers, but there are bad car drivers, bad motorcycle drivers, bad pedestrains. Every slice of society has it's good ones and bad ones. So why don't we all come out of our glass houses and take a look around?
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The issue with the Muskie Building is a valid one if its your first time driving through there. For the most part, those truckers do it all the time, they know its coming. They know these roads, their GPS's they carry are nothing like what we have in our cars, trust me they know the light is there
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I can't count the times I have almost been hit by speeding logging trucks that run red lights at the end of congress street. I now pull out slowly when I have a green light to be sure no trucks are coming. These logging and other 18 wheelers drive too fast through that area! It's frightening even coming down Falls Hill if you need to make a left turn either on to Spruce St. or into Food Trend with an 18 wheeler behind you. You simply pray they'll stop not hit you. They need to get rid of the "I'm bigger then you" attitude.
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Put yourself in the cab of that truck. Now picture yourself coming around the Muskie Building. Just how much distance do you really see that traffic light? Now try to stop your truck in that distance. Instead of idly sitting around, then complaining when someone else starts, why not be a little PROACTIVE? Maybe suggetst a lighted sign a little distance before that intersection. Lewiston has one one the railroad trestle near Marden's. Bring that idea up at a town meeting. Maybe with a little forewarning, the truck drivers will have enough notice to be able to stop SAFELY at that intersection.
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I'd guess that the majority of those trucks are very familiar with the area and know where the traffic lights are located. If they were going the speed limit (25 mph), they'd be able to stop for a red light.
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Perhaps now authorities will do something about the speeding trucks on Falls Hill. They get a running start on Route 108, run the red light at the bottom of Congress St, and shoot up the hill at 40-50 mph. We are so lucky nobody has been killed. The trucks with the yellow cabs seem to be the worst offenders. :(
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It also seems that those yellow-cab trucks are exempt from stopping at the stop sign coming from the Veterans Bridge onto Route 108.
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Personally I can't complain about semis with yellow cabs, I actually have had them stop for me to cross at cross walks and there are a lot of people in passanger cars and passenger trucks that don't do that. One of these guys actually stopped on Lincoln Ave for me to cross over to Hannaford. There is no way I expected him to stop that rig on the hill and have to get it rolling again.
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That's nice to hear.
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took second place when owners started paying their drivers by the load rather than by the hour.
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For the sake of safety, perhaps we should all go 5mph under the speed limit in town when we have a semi on our tail. Go ahead and disagree if you want, but there used to be a concept called "safety first".
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The irony in going under speed limit would be if the police pulled me over for impeding traffic. While the officer is busy writing my ticket, the idiot in the truck behind me goes down falls hill, spills, and kills three people.
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I also see that you have declared that truck drivers are idiots. Interesting.
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So, don't impede traffic. Pretty simple concept. Two wrongs don't make a right.
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Do you mean vigilanteism, Kevin? Making all pay for the actions of a few? Intentionally obstructing the flow of traffic? Sounds a little like road rage to me. A lot of pushing to reduce the police department, then demanding they do more? Yes, it is true that the speed limit is just that. A limit. It doesn't mean that you HAVE to go that fast, but alot of people plan trips based on speed limits. Hopefully, they also allow for unforseen delays. It seems, however, Kevin, that you want to take the law into your own hands.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.All bout safety.
It is simple physics, if a vehicle is traveling slower, they have less of a chance of killing you when you apply the brakes for a road hazard. When a vehicle is traveling too close behind me, I slow down. I really don't want to end up dead because of the ignorance of somebody else.
Each of the yellow cab trucks have a number on them. The phone number of the office is on their cab. When you have a problem with one of them (and you will), call the number and report them. Once the dispatcher stops laughing, and tells you there is nothing they can do about it, you can call the police, who will tell you the same thing.
If the police and company cannot stop these menaces from terrorizing the road, what should we do?
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When someone is following too close to you, you slow down? You don't want to end up dead because of thew ignorance of someone else? Let's look at what might be ignorant. Hmm. Slowing down to make the vehicle behind you even closer sounds kind of ignorant to me.
Calling the number on the truck is absolutely the right thing to start with. The dispatchers do not laugh at you and do not tell you there is nothing they can do. Trust me, the driver IS identified and dealt with.
This statement tells me something about your attitude: "When you have a problem with one of them (and you will), "
You have predetermined that all truck drivers are bad. Grow up, Kevin., or I will start thinking that all people from Connecticut are bad.
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