By Kelly Morgan,Staff Writer

HIRAM – Police said a 38-year-old Sabattus driver hauling a Poland Spring water tanker survived a plunge of at least 30 feet into the Saco River early Friday.

Laurier J. Buteau Jr. was driving the tractor-trailer, owned by Lily Transportation Corp., south on Route 113 at 3:30 a.m. when he lost control, Oxford County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Tim Ontengco said.

There is a sharp curve on the north side of the Saco River Bridge, Ontengco said, and Buteau’s truck began to slide as it rounded the turn.

“The truck slid, hit the guardrails, broke through a number of concrete bridge abutments, and then the truck tumbled down into the river,” Ontengco said. The water tank went first, flipping upside down as it landed, he said. The cab of the truck upright on top of the overturned water tank, allowing Buteau to escape serious injury and climb from the cab onto the riverbank.

The water tank burst, releasing as many as 5,650 gallons of water into the river, Ontengco said.

The corporal was unsure how much sloshing water in the tanker had to do with tipping the truck. He said speed definitely was a factor in the accident.

“(Buteau) admitted that he was traveling at 45 or 50 mph,” he said.

The posted speed limit is 35 mph, he added.

Ontengco added that Buteau said there had been an animal in the road, but that could not be verified.

The water being hauled had just been pumped from a Fryeburg spring and was being carried to a Poland Spring Water Co. bottling plant in Hollis, he said. A second truck driver hauling water on that route came upon the accident and reported it.

The Maine State Police were called to the scene to inspect the mechanical soundness of the commercial truck. “They did not find anything that was visibly defective,” Ontengco said.

The Hiram Fire Department worked to control fuel and oil leaking from the truck, and the Maine Department of Environmental protection and Maine Department of Transportation responded. Sacopee Rescue also was on the scene, Ontengco said, and took Buteau to Maine Medical Center. The corporal believed Buteau was treated and released Friday.

Ontengco said a similar accident occurred in nearby Porter two weeks ago, involving another truck contracted to haul water for Poland Spring. The truck rolled while trying to negotiate a corner and the driver was flown to a nearby hospital, he said.