Trucker hits slush, takes out pole
WESTFIELD, Maine — A Virginia man lost control of the tractor-trailer he was driving on a slippery section of U.S. Route 1 early Friday afternoon and crashed into a utility pole.
Luis Enrique Rodriguez, 45, of Staunton, Virginia, was driving too fast for road conditions when his 2006 Volvo got caught in slush on the roadway just after 1 p.m., Maine State Police Sgt. Jeffrey Clark said in a written statement issued later Friday.
After the empty trailer got caught in the slush, it began moving from side to side, eventually causing the rig to go off the road, where it struck and broke a utility pole before coming to rest in a field, Clark reported.
The impact did some damage to the rear of the tractor-trailer, but the driver was not injured, according to the sergeant.
Rodriguez owns and operates the tractor-trailer under the company name of Bernard Trucking, based out of Staunton, Virginia.
Trooper Robert Flynn was the primary investigator.
