JAY — A tractor-trailer loaded with bottled water went off Route 4 on Jay Hill on Monday, halting traffic for more than seven hours. The driver, 35-year-old Rohan Porteous of Norcross, Ga., was not hurt.
The 2011 Freightliner was heading up the south side of Jay Hill at about 11:48 a.m. during the snowstorm, when it got close to the edge of the road and was pulled into a ditch, Jay police Sgt. Troy Young said.
The truck, owned by Western Express Inc., was headed south from the Poland Spring bottling plant in Kingfield with 22 pallets of water. The weight of the load shifted to the right when the trailer went off the road, damaging a sidewall, Young said.
The water was unloaded by hand in order to avoid further damage and get the rig back on the highway, he said. Two tow trucks from Collins Enterprises of Wilton and a larger wrecker from MT Pockets of Dixfield responded and the rig was driven away.
Traffic was rerouted up Old Jay Hill Road from about 12:30 to 8 p.m. Jay Fire Rescue Department helped with traffic control and some firefighters helped unload the trailer, Young said.
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