Route 302 in Fryeburg was closed for several hours Monday after a tractor-trailer truck carrying seed potatoes crashed around 5:30 a.m.
The driver of the truck, 24-year-old Joshua Hafford of St. Francis, was driving west on Route 302, also known as Bridgton Road, when the truck went off the road, struck guardrails and trees, and destroyed a utility pole, knocking out internet, cable and phone service in the area, Fryeburg Police Chief Joshua Potvin said in a news release.
“The occupants of the truck as well as other motorists on Bridgton Road are extremely fortunate to have escaped this incident without serious injury,” Potvin said. “Driver fatigue appears to have played a major role in this crash. The driver reportedly fell asleep after starting from Caribou around midnight.”
Hafford’s truck came to rest about 75 feet from the road on the bank of Dead Lake Stream. The Maine State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement unit as well as the state departments of Environmental Protection and Transportation responded. Fuel from the crash leaked into the stream, which is part of the Saco River floodplain.
Hafford and his 20-year-old female passenger were not injured.
Potvin said his department’s investigation into the cause is ongoing, and charges may still be filed.
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