SACO, Maine — Two tractor-trailers crashed in the southbound lane of the Maine Turnpike Friday night and the crumpled vehicles came to rest in the median, where firefighters had to use extrication equipment to remove one of the drivers who was trapped.
Benjamin Desjardins, 37, of Jay was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland after he was removed from the debris of the 9:30 p.m. collision, and was listed in critical condition on Saturday morning, a nursing supervisor said.
Darren Castonguay, 41, of Gray, who was driving the other tractor-trailer, was taken to Southern Maine Medical Center in Biddeford and is listed in stable condition, Trooper Kristopher Kennedy said.
“The roadway was tied up most of the night” and traffic was diverted to a shoulder, Jane Oldham, a dispatcher for the Maine Turnpike Authority said Saturday.
Members of Troop K’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit and a Maine State Police reconstruction team are investigating the cause of the crash, Kennedy said.
“No charges have been filed at this time, however the crash is still under investigation,” the trooper said.
The force of the crash also damaged at least one fuel tank and fuel leaked into the soil of the median. Personnel from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection were contacted and are coordinating cleanup efforts with the Maine Turnpike Authority, Kennedy said.
The crash occurred at mile marker 34 and affected traffic in both the northbound and southbound lanes, the trooper said. The highway completely reopened 8 a.m.
Bought time they crashed into one of their own
That’s a horrible thing to say….
I wouldn’t wish that anybody, but I do understand WeRLosingCivility’s frustration. Unfortunately, bad drivers are behind the wheel of every type of vehicle.
Tractor trailer trucks have killed many innocent people. There is a company from Canada that rolls Rt. 9, yellow and black trucks. People call them the killer bees because there have been so many accidents and people killed or injured from Calais to Brewer. We are defenseless In our little vehicle. They need to be more careful.
Do they need to be more careful, or do “we” need to pay more attention? Truck drivers get a bad rap — yet these “guys” are professionals; I’d rather drive in their company than in the company of half of the other morons on the road today.
“With great power comes great responsibility.” If they weren’t nearly half as good at their job as they are, we’d be reading many more tragic stories.
Get well soon, to all involved.
Although currently bikes are not allowed on our interstate highways lets make this even more interesting by imagining a line of children enforcing their right to ride bicycles on roads such as route 9 where semi trucks are present constantly. Yup, when you talk to the “we have the right to ride bikes anywhere” advocates this is exactly what they are saying is allowed and that the rest of us need to respect and respond to such situations. Children on bikes and 100,000 lb trucks going 60 mph or more just don’t make sense!
That’s where parents come in.
You tell ’em.
And other types of vehicles “have killed many innocent people.”
the answer would be to ban all trucks and go get our stuff at the factory doors.
Good one.
Now thats a real smart remark,think about this folks 1 truck load supplys hundreds of people now thats 1 truck so lets put hundreds of 4 wheelers driving hundreds of miles to drive to the factorys, oh wait you can’t drive to the factory because there is no truck to deliver your 4 wheeler !!!!!!!
Perhaps jwpepper was being sarcastic.
Perhaps.
you are absolutely right , we’d have to walk to the factorys.
you cannot drive to china anyhow.im sure jwpepper was being sarcastic
one bad truck driver doesn’t make them ALL bad.
Ever been to Canada they have a real high rate of accidents, maybe it’s the training they get or the higher speed limits there and not the vechicle they are driving.
Hmm yah but they also have a well enforced law of speed limiters on all commercial trucks which is the smartest thing that socialist society has done. When you drive the Trans( I do all the time) they can’t go over 65-70 MPH. And I can remember driving on the trans before the limiter law in the 80’s and it was ridiculously dangerous to drive. A one lane highway with few passing lanes on hills for trucks. It was awful. Accidents/deaths (a lot I knew personally) happened daily everywhere in NB on that road. Now it’s safer without having a strungout pissed off trucker behind you named “Snowman” with his pedal to the metal singin’…”east bound and down, loaded up an’ truckin”..
No speed limits in Canada are higher than 100 km/hr (62 mph).
Maybe the 3 m.p.h. more here gets them all giddy and silly,
The last time I was there. I saw more than a half dozen accidents and if we didn’t do 75 mph they were like to drive over us.
I have driven tractor-trailers in Canada. The idiots in their cars will risk their lives to pass them. The will accelerate to great speeds, then pull in front of the truck and stand on their brakes to slow down before hitting the vehicle in front. You can smell the burning brakes from this practice.
Driving truck in Maine, I’ve seen the same thing. People are under the misguided belief that truck drivers won’t run them over no matter what type of stupid moves car/p.u. drivers do.
The last report I read from the NTSB said that 80% of accidents involving trucks and passenger vehicles were caused by the smaller passenger vehicle. This factoid from the DOT should be a wake up call to everyone that drives a personal vehicle. All drivers need to pay attention and be aware of what’s going on around them.
“For two-vehicle fatal crashes in 2010 involving a large truck and a passenger vehicle:
Of the 398 fatal head-on crashes, the large truck crossed the center line in 13% and the passenger vehicle crossed the center line in 87% of the crashes. Of the 318 fatal rear-end crashes, the large truck hit the passenger vehicle in the rear in 24% and the passenger vehicle hit the large truck in the rear in 76% of the crashes. ”
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/facts-research/LTCO2010/2010LargeTruckCrashOverview.aspx
I was almost run off Rt.9 a couple of years ago by a “Killer Bee”. I was on a motorcycle when the truck passed me and the truck cut back in too quick. I’m glad I was paying attention. He was one driver,most of the Sunbury trucks on the roads are good drivers. It’s like anything. A few gives the rest a bad name. I would also like to add I wouldn’t want a job driving a big rig.
I think your the one calling them “killer Bees”. There are more accidents in the vehicles you drive than there are Tractor Trailors. If you feel defensless then stop driving. You being paranoid or nervous behind the wheel is just as dangerous as what you think in your mind truckers are doing. Just my opinion.
most accidents involvin trucks are caused by drivers of cars.trucks cannot stop on a dime
and the word is “about” time..sorry had to correct..always be careful for what you wish for
That poster has apparently lost civility?
Stereotyping all truck drivers based on the handful like the ones you dealt with in a snowstorm is no different than thinking you and everyone else drives like someone I saw headed the wrong way at a high rate of speed on the interstate. Many people would benefit by people simply paying attention to driving without distraction. (and there are many…but not saying it is the case in this story) Hope the two involved are going to be ok.
There are more car accidents in this country then truck accidents,the news just makes more of a big deal about the trucks..
That’s because it’s “new” and not the usual. That’s what news is all about.
The date line for a story is supposed to reflect where the story was written. Some of these reporters seem to be in two places at once.
These reporters are so incompetent, is is riduclous, they had cops in Trenton directing traffic, at noon yesterday, I went through there at noon, not a cop in sight!
I passed this on a bus on my way to New York at 2am…it looked absolutely horrible. I hope the drivers heal quickly!
if you cant run with the big dogs , stay on the porch.
Number one, you used the word “bought” wrong. It should be “about”. Bought is past-tense of the word “buy”. Your name is “werlosing civility”? How about you act civilized and show compassion for two men who were hurt? One may die as he is in critical condition. These two drivers have loved ones, and friends that are distraught. You are happy that they crashed into “one of their own”? WOW. I think perhaps that you may be a “fair-weather driver” and driving in snow scares the crap out of you. Even if the trucks were going the speed limit or were speeding when they passed you, it still would have created whiteout conditions. That’s just nature of SNOW. If you don’t like driving in snow, then Maine isn’t for you. Go move where it never snows. Oh that’s right, even if there’s no snow, you would blame the trucks for making it too windy for you when they pass by, or the trucks would splash water all over your windshield from the rain when they drive by. Sounds like you shouldn’t drive at all if you cant handle driving in inclement weather with big trucks on the road.
and nobody overe 65, hmmm, how did it happen, seem according to Summers only accidents happen to people over 65
Glad you pointed that out.
This is my road!! No it’s mine!! No it’s mine……crash!!
what an ignorant, cold hearted remark. Maybe a car caused them to crash? Or a mechanical failure? But to assume and post a comment like you did was is not in good taste. I see absolutely no humor in your remark. Find another hobby. Comedy is NOT your thing.
I do believe that if you were to check the records for automobile related deaths in the past year on Maine roads you would find the vast majority would not involve trucks.
My father drove trucks for over 40 years and was involved in three major accidents. All three were caused by impatient automobile drivers. Its not always the truck drivers fault. We ALL need to pay more attention to our driving.
I hope all parties involved have a full and speedy recovery.
Was that the first time you were passed, north bound from Augusta, when a rig passed you?
To the 11 people who liked “WeRLosingCivility”comment……just like I responded to “WeRLosingCivility” How about you act civilized and show compassion for two men who were
hurt? One may die as he is in critical condition. These two drivers have
loved ones, and friends that are distraught. You are happy that they
crashed into “one of their own”? WOW what a bunch of cold hearted and ignorant folks you are. You should be ASHAMED of agreeing with such a comment. Anyone who is happy that someone gets hurt because they think its some kind of poetic justice could benefit from some psychological counseling.
glad someone flagged “WeRLosingCivility” post. I was going to, but wanted people like myself to have the opportunity to comment on his way of thinking. The other 12 people that agreed with him should be ASHAMED. I pray for the complete recovery of both drivers.
Good luck and speedy recovery to both the drivers.
this happined just 45 min after i went threw that area fri night but the odd thing is that a pickup spun out in front of me in that same area,then 45 min later this happins,and before people start pointing fingers at truckers i will say that it was down pouring fri.night down there…hhmmm perhaps that might of had something to do with the cause of this accedent….
It was a crash, not an accident. Somebody messed up.