YARMOUTH, Maine — The Maine Department of Public Safety on Thursday provided more insight about why a tractor-trailer crash on Interstate 295 Wednesday caused a 15-hour closure of a stretch of highway.
The crash shut down northbound traffic near Exit 17 in Yarmouth from about 9 a.m. to about midnight.
Jerry Freeman, 55, of Lakeport, New Hampshire, who was operating the tractor-trailer, was not injured in the crash. The involved tractor-trailer was registered to Xpress Natural Gas LLC, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss said.
The trailer was loaded with compressed natural gas, which was being transported in 51 individual cylinders manifolded together as one unit. The trailer had various pipes and valves on its sides and top that, if ruptured, could cause a catastrophic release of the hazardous material, according to Moss.
"Because of these circumstances, a deliberate and thought-out plan needed to be crafted by multiple parties to identify the best way to safely clear the scene," she said in an update Thursday.
When Maine State Police troopers arrived on scene, they discovered the truck had crashed into a line of concrete jersey barriers that had been set up along the detour route of the mile 17 bridge replacement project. The truck rolled onto its side into more concrete barriers and then landed on top of a passenger vehicle, Moss explained.
The driver of the car was able to self-extricate, and she was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, officials said.
Xpress Natural Gas fully cooperated with officials and sent managers, mechanics, three empty trailers, and an engineer to the scene to assist, according to Moss. Mid-Coast Towing of Durham, CPM Constructors, Shaw Brothers Construction, and the Yarmouth Fire Department also dispatched crews to assist.
The overturned trailer was offloaded to the extent possible by Xpress Natural Gas, which was a process that proved slow and arduous, according to officials. Upon completion of the offloading, Mid-Coast Towing attempted to upright the trailer but, due to its weight and awkward configuration, they were not able to initially do so. Xpress Natural Gas requested the assistance of National Wrecker Service of Eliot, with whom they have a company contract, Moss said.
National Wrecker Service responded with additional resources and knowledge of the trailer and its construction and ultimately everyone on scene crafted a safe plan to disconnect the intermodal container containing the 51 cylinders from the trailer chassis. Once this was done, the container was loaded onto a trailer, and Maine State Police escorted the load from the crash scene to Xpress Natural Gas’ Eliot location, where it could safely be dealt with.
Upon conclusion of the investigation, Freeman was issued a citation for failing to maintain his lane, Moss said.