MASARDIS, Maine — Maine State Police were on the scene of an accident Monday evening in which a tractor-trailer collided with a train.
State police Sgt. Brian Harris said the truck driver, Travis Carll, 32, of Linneus, suffered only a minor injury and did not require medical attention.
Carll was heading south on Route 11 in a 1999 Western Star tractor-trailer owned by McGary Forestry of Linneus when the crash occurred about noon, Harris said.
Carll was unable to stop the tractor-trailer loaded with tree-length logs as he approached the railroad crossing in Masardis where a train owned by Maine Northern Railway was passing through with cars also loaded with tree-length logs.
The tractor-trailer struck the side of the train, knocking one of the cars off the track and spilling the car’s load of logs, according to Harris.
The truck was totaled in the crash and the train had significant damage, police said. The train operator was not injured.
Route 11 remained closed at 5 p.m. as heavy equipment and local crews were brought to the site to remove the logs and clear the roadway.
Traffic was being rerouted around the accident scene.
Trooper Dennis Quint was the investigating officer, assisted by Harris and members of the Ashland Police Department, Ashland and Masardis fire departments and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
And why wasn’t he able to stop in time?
Probably because the railroad crossing is at the bottom of a hill and around a corner that you cannot see until you are right upon it. Be careful making insinuations that could disparage someone or something you know nothing about.
Thank-you…I get so sick of people jumpin right on the storys..God forbid that a truck does something wrong and has an ACCIDENT..no wait,he prob thought runnin into the side of a train was a great idea…unbelievable…again
I never stated he was speeding, texting or not paying attention to the road. I simply asked a question but for some unknown reason you had to fly into a tirade.
Valid question, and there could be a mechanical problem also. Love how anyone who questions the truckers gets crucified more than the truckers.
How is asking a question making an insinuation?
It was how you worded it. Try taking out the “and” and it will be more of a question than an accusation or insinuation…
The use of the word “and” was properly used because the article does not state why the driver was unable to stop.
Sadly people such as yourself read way to deeply into a simple question.
And what a simple and valid question it was….
(Was my use of ‘and’ ok; or did I insinuate and disparage?) :)
So do you think that the state should do something about that corner ?
Lets build a bridge over it. That would take any risk out of the crossing at all. :)
Advance warning disc tells a driver there is a crossing ahead. Hills corners, whatever…… I agree with Eric
Remember that the next time you come flying up to a intersection or a crossing in your puddle jumper car and have to slam the brakes on to stop. Dont you think you should have slowed down first?
“Back in the day”, I used to haul 4foot wood (and later, long length hardwood) on that road plus hundreds of times in my car.
All truckers on that road already know that the tracks are there (it’s their job), plus any driver of a car or truck needs to realize the limitations of their machine’s cornering and stopping abilities.
“Expect the unexpected”. KOB didn’t disparage anyone.
That crossing IS NOT at the bottom of a hill, it is around a corner but I’ve never hit the train. The crossing at the bottom of the hill after that crossing headed south. Please if you are going to fly off the handle at least get the information right
is it possible hes familiar with the this certain road?? i mean i see posts on here from drivers who know exactly where this train xing is… if thats the case and you know where it is, wouldn’t you slow down to where you know you CAN stop if you HAVE to??? don’t get me wrong, i understand accidents happen in ALL vehicles, not just cars…
They didn’t really specify as to which tracks – there are two batches in so-called Masardis – people have a right to be confused, because if you drive this road, you would be inclined to think it’s the hilly one. It’s the curvy one. However, ususally when there is a train crossing at either this section, both sets of lights are on. But the train can vear in two different directions. BUT…when I travel this road, the track crossing is so bas, you in a regular vehicle have to slow down or the tires will fall off. And I have always gone slower because of the next track set, which also stinks. There is substantial warnings of the tracks – people need to slow between the two. If this man (thank goodness he is OK) had truck problems, that stinks. If he has driven this road many time, he know he needs to go slow here.
Where this wreck happened is not at the crossing in “downtown Masardis” at the bottom of the big hill,, it’s was the next one north at the Squa Pan siding at the Ashland town line :-/
Remember they had to change Squa to Sco-pan (I think that’s how it’s spelled) or something like that. I, myself, with a percentage of american indian, did not find it at all offensive, but…
Again?
This is a low speed accident. If it were faster there would have been nothing left of the truck and driver. Yet still this scene since two trucks have had a problem there leads me to believe that there may not be significant warning there.
Talk about unlucky. Northern Maine rail traffic being what it is these days, that was probably the only train to pass by there all day, and he managed to hit it.
Typical gonna be alot of comments on this one! “It’s always the trucks fault” Statistics show 90% of accidents involving trucks are caused by a four wheeled vehicle! Not that this one was but…….
I have driven the road where this happened (yes in a(god forbid) log truck, that is a very bad crossing that is almost impossible to see and stop for when traveling below the speed limit! There needs to be some lights set up further back on the corner so it can be seen earlier!
I’m just glad it wasn’t a gasoline tanker involved. That would have been enough for a ten cent per gallon hike at the pumps.
if the fact that it could have been a kid, doesn’t make you think about it more, just shows your lack of a heart…
A kid playing on railroad tracks in the middle of the road?!
If a minivan hits that kid, most people here would call it a terrible tragedy.
If a truck hits that same kid, most here would call for the trucker to be thrown in jail.
Warning lights at train crossings should be set up so that all vehicles can safely stop prior to the crossing while driving the posted speed limit.
Im sure DOT will inspect the truck for proper brakes and that the load was a legal load. I’ve read some of the previous comments, if this crossing is in fact at the bottom of a hill and around a corner why are the RR crossing lights not on top of the hill in a safer area? Loaded trucks cant stop on a dime, even when doing the speed limit.
In Maine if you fall asleep while driving an 18 wheeler and kill somebody you don’t get charged…
How many other crossings are there where the lights are not near the tracks? Every other highway user has been able to stop for the daily trains?? How are they able to do it, yet only a few cannot?
You can see in the picture that coming south he would have seen the train for a ways back. I was on route 11 this past weekend and had a trailer truck pass me in an unsafe zone going around 70 mph. I had both my kids in the vehicle. I was traveling about 5 mph over the speed limit. They go way too fast. If the state police would show a presence on route 11 this would help
What? – they’re here and there about once a month in Masardis – what do you want them to do – police the road more than once a month? They’re too busy on the insterstate driving 70 mph, turning on their lights when you try to pass at 76 mph…
If you listen to a scanner the “County Mounties” are usually within 10 miles of Houlton on route # 1 most of the time.. We never see them on the northern end of 11 doing radar checks :-/
The irony here is that there are so few trains even left in Maine. You almost have to go out of your way to find a train in Maine anymore, never mind, crash into one.
Anyways, had a nice scenic ride through Garfield on my way north….
When we travel N and S on 11 we always use that go around ;-) aka the scenic route
Moving the railroad lights before the corner would be great!!! Not sure how many more accidents have to happen before they figure that out!
Build a BRIDGE over the tracks….. then there wouldnt even be an issue.
Did any of you know it alls think maybe the brakes could have failed on the truck? It happens, its mechanical. Some of you people sound so stupid.
I think people need to start using some common sense. They seem to think that trucks always speed and haul overloaded. I would be willing to bet anything if this was the case it would have been pointed out in the article first thing. The fact that he hit a train and wasnt injured or killed should prove the point that he wasnt speeding. Im not sure if people realise this or not but usually when you hit a train wheather its with a car or truck or a horse and buggy for that matter the train comes out on top. Usually the driver dont fair to well. That should be proof enough that he was paying attention and not speeding.
And for you people that are quick to point the finger, take note that the back of the trailer has alot of stake showing. My guess is he wasnt overloaded or else the trailer probably would have been full.
I disagree.
The train was switching in the yard, and barely moving… the truck slammed into the side of a slow moving rail car, TIPPING the Rail car over… if the train had been traveling at any speed, THEN the truck wouldve been dragged…and other rail cars would have run over the truck snowballing it into oblivion…. Thats MY common sense… :)
Either way, an unsafe driver. That’s my bigger point in all this.
Lucky to have minor injury.
I really think all these over thinking idiots need to get behind the wheel of a truck and see how good they do… I have drove this road almost everyday in a vehicle or a truck these choosing signs are in a position that you are almost on top of them before you see them…. If he was going as fast as you people say than he would be dead… Everyone takes for granted what a truck does for our way of life maybe we should learn to respect them and stop treating them as a enemy!
I have hauled logs up route 11,I never drive over the speed limit.most of the way I will travel under the speed limit in an effort to avoid hitting a moose or deer. The dogooders will always complain at me because I am going to slow and holding up traffic.
Then I can’t help but notice the truck drivers that go fast.The dogooders will always be complaining at those drivers because they are driving to fast.
So,I guess it does not matter how slow or fast a person drives their truck because the dogooders will always find a reason to complain about it.they just seem to be a bunch of complaining bass turds.
Nice to know there are some professionals out here who get it. Good job driver!
Hate to tell you bub but brake failure can and does happen, many things can cause this. Even after you do your pre trip inspection things can go wrong.
When I drove truck back in the early 80’s if my brakes failed they locked up instantly when a hose blew you couldn’t move until you fixed it right there… Have they come up with a new technology that your brakes don’t do that when there’s a failure ??
So many people want to “engineer” out the issue that the truck driver failed to follow the laws of the road. Who pays for that??
So when a truck driver disobeys laws the rest of us have to pay for the engineering of removing the risk for other drivers that do not wish to obey every day traffic signs…… I just don’t get the logic. Then these people use the words, “common sense” the common sense should be spelled “cents” since there sense cost taxpayers MORE money.