Warm temperatures are blamed for the thin ice on the Kennebec River that allowed four trucks to break through in Dresden Friday night. A private towing service pulled the four trucks out. The incident caused a stir when the Maine Marine Patrol had not been notified until late Saturday morning.
No charges are anticipated in the incident, according to Sgt. Daryen Grenata of the Maine Marine Patrol, even though his department was not notified until the day after the trucks had been pulled out. Dresden Fire Chief Gerald Lilly said his department had not been notified, either.
Grenata said all of the people involved cooperated fully with the investigation conducted by his agency. He said there was some confusion as to whether or not someone made a call to local law enforcement and concentration was focused on getting the trucks unstuck.
“Those types of incidents need to be reported,” Grenata said. “Otherwise there could be criminal charges.”
In addition to concerns about pollution, local law enforcement and emergency personnel need to be notified of accidents when they occur.
The four trucks were stuck on the ice in warm temperatures Friday afternoon and their owners were attempting to get them out, Grenata said. He said their attempts to remove the trucks after going through the ice surface “a little bit” lasted late into Friday night.
A friend of the party who owned a towing company pulled the trucks out at low tide, according to the Marine Patrol.
Grenata said there was no concern about pollution.
Marine Patrolman Chris Hilton, whose department focuses on tidal areas, said the movement of currents combined with the warm temperatures of mud and sun melt the ice rapidly. Fishermen said the ice on the Kennebec River was about six inches thick Saturday afternoon.
“That’s really not much ice at all,” Hilton said.
