HOULTON, Maine — A tractor-trailer incident Monday morning in Houlton resulted in small oil spill that closed portions of the town’s downtown.
Donald Klump, 59, of Deep Run, N.C. was traveling east on Pleasant Street in a 2000 Freightliner rig at about 9 a.m. when his truck made a wide right turn onto Summer Street. The rig ran over a piece of curbing and onto part of the lawn at the Houlton Recreation Department, according to Lt. Dan Pelletier of the Houlton Police Department.
Due to the weight of the tractor the curbing broke, and a portion of the curbing lodged in the rig’s oil pan. Klump continued to operate south on Summer Street and turned west onto Main Street before he realized the problem. The rig spewed oil from Summer Street to where it came to a stop near the entrance to Market Square.
Pelletier said he spotted the vehicle, near Modern Beauty Salon with its hood up and stopped to investigate.
Due to the oil spill, Pelletier called in the Houlton Fire Department, and the town’s Public Works Department. Officer Rick York responded to cover the accident.
“All three departments worked well together, to ensure that the inconvenience to its townspeople was kept to a minimum,” Pelletier said.
Summer Street and parts of Main Street were temporarily closed due to the oil spill. The damage and clean-up costs were estimated at about $3,000. The rig is owned by Big Rock Transport out of Peru, Ind. The incident remains under investigation.
