A trailer hauling cotton to a recycling business in Mechanic Falls collapsed Tuesday under its load and the weight of snow and ice on the roof, on Route 121 in Poland. The driver, Kevin Wolf, 49, was not injured. (Maine Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit photo)

POLAND — A trailer loaded with cotton collapsed Tuesday afternoon under the weight of its load and snow and ice on the roof, on Route 121, according to state police.

Kevin Wolf, 49, was driving the Corcoron Environmental Services’ rig to its property in Mechanic Falls when the trailer snapped in two, just past Hackett Mills bridge, according to Trooper Jeff DeGroot.

Wolf, whose address was not immediately available, was not injured and no other vehicles were involved, DeGroot said.

“The trailer roof had been compromised previously,” according to DeGroot, who investigated for the state Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit.

The upper rails where the roof and walls join broke, causing the lower rails of the trailer let go. He said there was snow and ice on the roof and inside the trailer.

The 2009 Vanguard trailer was demolished. The 2016 Peterbilt tractor was not damaged, DeGroot said.

Corcoron Environmental Services, which provides recycling services to municipalities and businesses, was issued citations for an expired inspection and trailer frame failure, DeGroot said.

Such structural failures involving tractor-trailers are relatively rare.

“We get one or two a year,” DeGroot said.

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