WATERVILLE — Police are saying faulty brakes probably caused an accident early Wednesday afternoon in which a tractor-trailer flipped over on Kennedy Memorial Drive.

Waterville police Chief Joe Massey said the truck was traveling north on Interstate 95 just after noon and exited toward Kennedy Memorial Drive. At that point, the driver, Bertram Ware, of Warwick, Rhode Island, realized the truck’s brakes were not working properly. Ware, 36, saw another vehicle stopped ahead of him, Massey said, and though he had been intending to turn right onto the street, he swerved left to avoid the car ahead of him. When the truck entered Kennedy Memorial Drive, Massey said, Ware then tried to make a sharp right turn.

“He was not able to avoid hitting the median strip, and when he hit that, it flipped the truck on its left side,” Massey said.

Ware and his passenger were not injured in the crash, but they were examined at the accident scene by Delta Ambulance. Neither required hospitalization, and outside of a few signs on the median strip, no other damage was evident, Massey said.

The refrigerated truck, owned by Min Express Inc., of Bellingham, Massachusetts, was full of produce. Massey said the truck was put upright and pulled into the nearby Marden’s Surplus & Salvage parking lot, where state police were to conduct an investigation. Min Express was sending another truck up, Massey said, and none of the produce was lost in the crash.

No other vehicles were damaged. The accident squeezed traffic down to a lane, but the traffic lights were not affected. Speed did not appear to be a factor in the crash, Massey said, just the apparently faulty brakes on the steep exit ramp. He said it does not appear that charges will be brought against Ware.

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The truck was substantially damaged, Massey said, but he did not know the full extent.

Colin Ellis — 861-9253

cellis@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @colinoellis

 


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