A single vehicle tractor-trailer crash in the northern intersection of Route 1 and Damariscotta’s Main Street impacted northbound traffic for more than four hours Monday, Nov. 18, but there were no injuries.
Joseph Alfred, 44, of Lake Worth, Fla., was operating the 2018 Freightliner southbound on Route 1 when he attempted to turn left onto Main Street, according to Damariscotta Police Sgt. Kyle Sylvester. Alfred failed to negotiate the turn, struck a stop sign, entered the intersection, and his truck rolled onto its passenger side around 6:30 p.m.
The end of the trailer came to rest in the northbound lane of Route 1. The nose of the truck stopped in the southbound lane of Main Street.
Speed is believed to be a contributing factor in the crash, Sylvester said. A member of the Maine State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit issued two citations to Alfred: one for failure to stop at a stop sign and a second for failure to maintain control of his vehicle.
The Freightliner is owned by Xpress Natural Gas, a compressed natural gas supplier based in Boston, Mass., according to Sylvester. The truck was not carrying cargo at the time of the crash.
Xpress Natural Gas did not return a request for comment.
The Lincoln County Communications Center paged Damariscotta Fire Department and Central Lincoln County Ambulance Service to respond to the scene at 6:37 p.m. Responders were assisted at the scene by Damariscotta Police and Maine State Police.
Until two tow trucks removed the tractor trailer, responders maintained two-way traffic on Route 1 using the southbound travel and breakdown lanes. Damariscotta firefighters were able to clear the scene around 11:45 p.m.
