NEW PORTLAND – A Kingfield man died after his minivan was struck by a tractor-trailer truck on Route 16, less than two miles from the Kingfield line, Somerset County Sgt. Paul York said Monday.
Jerome Daly, 45, who lived about four miles from where Saturday’s accident occurred in North New Portland, died at the scene, York said. The accident was reported about noon, he said.
The truck driver, Andre Pelletier, 33, of St. Jacques, Quebec, was injured in the accident. He was treated and released Saturday from Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington, hospital spokeswoman Jill Gray said Monday.
It appears that Pelletier, who was driving an 18-wheeler hauling granular lime, crossed the centerline on a series of “S” curves and struck Daly’s minivan, which was in the opposite lane heading north, York said.
The van went into a ditch, hit a culvert and flipped, he said.
The trailer on the big rig flipped over and landed in a ditch on the left side of the road, the opposite lane from the direction Pelletier was traveling, York said. There was very little spillage but it took about 17 hours to clear the scene because they couldn’t right the trailer until the lime was removed, he said.
Maine State Police Trooper Jon Wilson reconstructed the accident, York said, and deputies are awaiting results. Somerset County Deputy Kris McKenna is the lead investigator on the case, he said.
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