Slippery roads wreak havoc in Franklin County

A tractor-trailer truck driven by Victor Sanches, 44, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, jackknifed Thursday afternoon after it slid partially off Mercer Road/U.S. Route 2 in New Sharon. Franklin County Sheriff’s Office photos

FARMINGTON — Several vehicles slid, rolled over and one jackknifed on slippery roads Thursday in the Franklin County region.

Law enforcement, firefighters, emergency medical providers and tow truck drivers went from one incident to another throughout the day, after a thin layer of ice topped by snow and rain, made for dangerous driving conditions.

Among the incidents was a jackknifed tractor-trailer truck on the Mercer Road/U.S. Route 2 in New Sharon, east of the Mile Hill Road/state Route 27 intersection.

About 1 p.m., Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr., Sgt. Nathan Bean and Deputy Austin Couture responded to the incident.

Victor Sanches, 44, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, was driving a 2021 Freightliner owned by New Prime Inc. hauling a box trailer west when he lost control and slid off the right side of the road into the tree line, Nichols wrote in an email. No injuries were reported. New Sharon Fire Rescue Department personnel assisted at the scene. The rig was towed away.

About 11:30 a.m. Couture responded to a report of a single-vehicle rollover on Foster Hill Road in Freeman Township. William Fay, 70, of Farmington was traveling south when he lost control and his vehicle rolled over into a ditch. He was not injured, Nichols wrote. Phillips Fire Department personnel assisted at the scene. The vehicle had to be removed.

Jay Fire Rescue Chief Booker said the department responded to crashes and road slide-offs beginning Thursday morning. When he pulled out of his driveway on Woodman Hill Road, he encountered a dump truck with a load of granite had gone off the road into a ditch.

They also responded to another slide-off and a rollover on state Route 4.