SCARBOROUGH, Maine — A dump truck towing an excavator struck a Maine Turnpike overpass Tuesday morning in Scarborough, heavily damaging the bridge, state police said.
The truck, driven by Thomas Stanley, 44, of Old Orchard Beach, was towing a flatbed trailer on which the excavator was traveling, Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said.
Stanley was heading south when the boom of the excavator struck the support beams to the Exit 44 overpass bridge about 8 a.m., causing more than $100,000 in damage, McCausland said.
In addition, shrapnel from the bridge damaged a vehicle that was following the trailer, ripping a large hole in the hood. The car’s occupants were not hurt.
Traffic on the overpass has been restricted to personal vehicles, as the accident caused the bridge’s strength and capacity to be compromised.
Stanley was charged with having an unsecure load and operating over height on the turnpike. The company Stanley was driving for, Williams Brothers Paving, also was charged with violation of trailer brakes as the state police commercial vehicle enforcement found several defects with the vehicle.
