BOWDOINHAM, Maine — No one was injured and 41,000 pounds of butter were unscathed Wednesday in a tractor-trailer crash that snarled traffic on Interstate 295 for several hours.
Maine State Police Trooper Chris Rogers said the driver of a tractor-trailer out of Springfield, Mass., 41-year-old Kevin Bryant, was on his first day on the job Wednesday morning when he fell asleep and careened into a wooded area near mile marker 40. Rogers said the truck scraped along a guardrail before plunging into a stand of trees.
“It was quite a sight. It burrowed a hole so far into the woods, you couldn’t see the truck from the road,” Rogers said. “I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”
Rogers said Bryant had left Springfield at about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, which means he’d been driving for almost four hours by the time the accident was reported at 8:18 a.m. Bryant, who is from Chicopee, Mass., received a citation for an out-of-date logbook from the Maine State Police’s Commercial Vehicle Truck Weight division, said Rogers.
The rig’s fuel tank was ruptured in the accident and leaked some diesel fuel, which was cleaned up by crews from the Department of Environmental Protection. Traffic on I-295 was slowed for most of the morning and at one point during a rush, was backed up for more than three miles, said Rogers.
The truck and refrigerated trailer, which are owned by A-C Motor Express, were both totaled.
Bryant, who was en route to Augusta with the butter delivery, was taken to Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick for a precautionary check-up but was not injured, said Rogers. The butter also was saved when workers loaded it onto another truck and delivered it to its destination. It was a long process, according to Rogers, that involved the use of a small tractor to transport the butter out of the woods and lots of manual labor. Each pallet of butter, which was in 40-pound blocks, had to be unstacked inside the damaged truck, re-stacked outside and re-shrink-wrapped before being put on another truck.
“They tried to pull the truck out with the butter onboard, but it was too heavy,” said Rogers. “The truck was at a bit of an angle so it didn’t go easy, but it worked. I guess there’s a big demand for butter in the Augusta area.”
I like butter.
20 tons of butter saved after tractor-trailer crash; driver uninjured during first day on job.
Should say first and last day on job.
Guess he had butter fingers.
Bravo!
First day on the job…..tough way to begin with a new employer…..
“Hi Boss, this is Kevin. I just wanted to tell you I wrecked your truck and your trailer, but I did save the butter and get a little nap at the same time.”
“OK Kevin, thanks. By the way, you’re fired.”
I heard his boss said, “Glad you saved the butter, but you’ll have to make some bread elsewhere because you’re toast.”
That’s funny any way you slice it !
what do ya do with a 40 pound block of butter? thats alotta toast
Add popcorn.
Butterfooter
You companies keep hiring them warm bodies because you can save a few dollars an hour , some day your insurance company will wake you up and demand you hire experienced drivers with a solid driving record . Pay now or pay later ! Or maybe he partied too harty day before and didnt get much sleep. Whatever the reason its not good to sleep while your driving ,10-4 good buddy !
And just how do new truck drivers gain experience anyway?
How do you know he wasn’t experienced? All this article states was that this was Mr. Bryant’s first day at THIS job. How do YOU know he doesn’t have a good, solid driving record? As far as partying too hearty, it doesn’t state that anyone smelled alcohol or that he appeared to be impaired and was arrested for OUI or DUI of drugs. He isn’t the first person to fall asleep at the wheel.
So, honey, how’d your first day of work go?
“$#@%^&*!!!”
“I guess there’s a big demand for butter in the Augusta area.”
The lobbyists use it to grease the palms of the politicians.
Just logged on to this story. I was going to say that they use it as a lube to cornhole the voters. but I think your comment is more likely to not get censored.
Major calamity narrowly averted :
http://youtu.be/ODMye94wMfk
I’ll bet he’s glad he didn’t get hired driving that fuel tanker.
If the accident had happened up in the Orono area of I-95, it would have gone with the two potato truck accidents.
add two more trucks, one carrying skillets, the other carrying stoves.
home fries anyone?
Good first day, eh? Glad hes okay
Who gets a delivery of 20 tons of butter, and from whom?
Most likely PFG Northcenter in Augusta. Its a food wholesaler distribution company that supplies lots of foodservice operations.
Ah, thanks. Now to know where that butter is made.
It’s made where everything else is made:
China.
Or maybe the USDA warehouse.
I drove by this one as they were cleaning up. Cops & firefighters did an OUTSTANDING job of keeping traffic flowing while they were doing their thing. Could have been one HELL of a mess. Nothing like seeing more than a dozen steel guardrail posts snapped like toothpicks to get your attention!
Tragic.
back on the unemployment roles or maybe he’s got a back injury…works comp maybe…minimum wage for excellent CDL’s should be minimum $20.per hour
with the benefits as extra
Parkay
Tough first day on the job, one he’ll never forget. We all have had tough first days, probably not as frightening as his. Wonder who gets to do his laundry?
He butter not do that again!
thank god the butter is safe. i thought we were gonna have a national tragedy
Parkay, says “not okay!”
I don’t understand how they could of saved the butter, they were hauling it in a refridgerated trailer
so they could keep it cold but they had to handle it 3-4 times befor they got it all reloaded into the other trailer plus it was a hot day, when ever I’ve ever seen a truck hauling perishable goods get in an accident like that they threw every bit of it away they weren’t allowed to salvage nothing.
Beware of butter that is advertised as this weeks “special”…..
Unlike margarine, butter will survive the elements.
you have it the other way around, margarine is the one thats one molecule away from plastic.
Butter doesn’t melt or separate as quickly as margarine.
In most states they would have had to throw it out. But here in Maine where we have the King of Surplus and Salvage as our Governor it goes directly to Marden’s. So what if a few low income people get sick. Just think of all the precious tea party tax dollars that will be saved by less people on EBT.
This probably went to the USDA warehouse in Augusta.
Kevin 45 Oak St. Bangor , Maine when you screw up that bad on the first day of work. Maybe they needed a new truck. Kevin was thinking
No wonder the price of butter is $2.68/LB at Walmart. Good grief!
One thing for sure this guy is now unemployed.
My thoughts exactly lol
A better question is “Why is butter being shipped from Mass to a state dominated by empty farmland ? ” Did Mainuhs forget the recipe ? Instead of skewering the poor maybe LePage should address the issue of WHY Maine farmers have failed to stay in business ?