RUMFORD — A Woolwich man was injured Tuesday morning while rounding a sharp curve on Route 232 after a
flatbed trailer he was hauling behind a dump truck, flipped
over, spilling an excavator into the woods, police said.

According to Patrolman Scott Mills,
Kenneth Vining, 53, complained of back and neck pain after the 7:14
a.m. accident. He was taken by Med-Care Ambulance to Rumford
Hospital.

Mills said Tuesday afternoon that
Vining was driving west toward Route 2 in a 1988 Ford dump truck
owned by MCW Trucking Inc. of Pownal. Vining told Mills that as he was
rounding the sharp corner at the intersection with South Rumford
Road, he glanced in the side mirror and saw the trailer tires lift
off the road.

The trailer then flipped completely
over, causing the large Caterpillar excavator to roll into the woods,
Mills said. The dump truck, however, remained upright.

Mills said the owner of the excavator,
Thomas Cushman of Pownal, righted the excavator and used it to flip
the trailer over, during which Route 232 was briefly closed to
traffic by Rumford firefighters, who also responded.

Cushman estimated damage to the
excavator at $15,000.

The dump truck wasn't damaged, but its
trailer hitch assembly was, Mills said.

Additionally, Mills said he has yet to
get an estimate from the Maine Department of Transportation about
damage to the road caused by the heavy equipment.

No citations are pending.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com