HODGDON, Maine — A Patten man suffered serious injuries July 26, 2016 in a tractor-trailer crash on U.S. Route 1 in Hodgdon, according to police.
Maine State Police Cpl. Dennis Quint said in a written statement last Wednesday that the crash took place just before 5:30 p.m. on a stretch of road known as the Calais Road.
According to Quint, Richard Brackett, 28, was traveling south in his 2000 International when he lost control, going too fast while negotiating a curve. He was pulling a loaded chip trailer at the time. The truck went into the right shoulder, which was soft because of recent road work.
Quint said the trailer began to tip, which caused the truck and trailer to roll onto its right side, breaking a utility pole in half. The vehicle then crashed into a large group of trees.
Brackett was taken by Houlton Ambulance to Houlton Regional Hospital with serious injuries not considered life-threatening. Crews from Eastern Maine Electric and Fair Point responded to the scene because of the damage to the pole, electrical transformer and several wires. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection responded because of the truck leaking diesel fuel from both fuel tanks.
Maine Department of Transportation rerouted traffic because U.S. Route 1 was closed several hours for clean up. The truck, owned by K.R. Lane Logging Inc. of Sherman, was demolished in the crash.
Cpl. Dennis Quint continues to investigate the crash.
