NEW VINEYARD — A Florida truck driver was uninjured when the tractor-trailer he was driving, which was loaded with bottled water, went off Route 27, rolled over and hit a utility pole Tuesday night, Maine State Police Trooper Marc Poulin said Thursday.

Roger Cardoso-Nieves, 54, of Miami Beach told police that another vehicle had entered his lane and he swerved to avoid it. His trailer got off into the grassy section of the shoulder and he couldn’t correct it. The trailer flipped and pulled the tractor over onto its right side, Poulin said. The trailer hit the pole and the top half off the trailer was ripped open.

Witnesses told police they did not see another vehicle, he said. There was a language barrier with Cardoso-Nieves, Poulin said.

Trooper Keith Barton is the primary investigator. Poulin of the Maine Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit happened to be in the area and did an inspection of the truck.  

The truck was hauling cases of bottled water from the Poland Spring Bottling Plant in Kingfield, Poulin said.

The truck is owned by Millennium Logistics, Inc. out of Miami, Florida.

New Vineyard Fire Department, Farmington Fire Rescue Department and Maine Department of Transportation assisted with closing the road. Franklin County Sheriff’s also responded to assist at the accident, which was reported at about 5 p.m.

Central Maine Power Co. also responded. The pole was leaning significantly but did not break, Poulin said. The trailer was totaled and the tractor received significant damage.

Initially Route 27 was closed for about two hours and then was opened up for a bit and was closed again when the wrecker pulled the truck up right, Farmington Fire Rescue Chief Terry Bell said.

dperry@sunmediagroup.net

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