LAKEVILLE PLANTATION, Maine — A 66-year-old man was found dead in a pickup truck that had rolled over and submerged in a creekbed early Sunday near what is known locally as Dynamite Bridge, officials said Monday.
Ronald Bradford of Lakeville was last seen alive heading home from a day of ice fishing about 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy William Sheehan said in a statement released Monday afternoon.
Bradford’s body was found after emergency dispatchers received a call reporting a vehicle off the Lakeville Shores roadway at about 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Roy Perry said.
Springfield Fire & Rescue Department Assistant Fire Chief-EMT Tim Peters said he saw a Chevy Silverado was on its roof in what appeared to be a creekbed when he arrived about 9:50 a.m. at the bridge.
“I was unable to determine whether there were any occupants in the vehicle at first because of the way it was positioned,” Peters said early Monday.
A tow-truck operator had partly winched the pickup out of the creek when the man’s body was found, Peters said.
The pickup’s cab was submerged about three-quarters of the way to its wheels. The water was slow moving but several feet deep, Peters said.
The single-lane bridge is wooden with short wooden guardrails. The truck appeared to be heading south when the accident occurred. The gravel and dirt road curves sharply just before the bridge’s northbound side, making it easy for a driver to miss the bridge, especially in inclement weather, Peters said.
The road had apparently been plowed before the accident, but it was still slick with ice. Firefighters called back a contractor employed by a local neighborhood association to maintain the road to salt and sand it to make the roadway safer, Peters said.
Bradford’s body was taken to the state medical examiner’s office for examination. Detective William Flagg, who is handling the investigation, did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment on Monday.
Anyone with information about the accident is asked to call the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office at 945-4636.