MEDWAY, Maine -- A section of Interstate 95 was closed to traffic Sunday following a spectacular car-truck crash in which the trucker was rescued after his tractor broke free and plunged off a bridge into the Penobscot River.
The driver of the car was transported to a Bangor hospital for treatment of second- and third-degree burns.
John Church of Fredericton, New Brunswick, was driving his car in the southbound passing lane when he drifted to the right and struck the tractor-trailer twice, causing it to jackknife and shear off a 30- to 40-foot section of the guardrail, said Trooper Trevor Snow of the Maine State Police. Both vehicles burst into flames.
The rig, driven by Ronald Gallant, 60, of O'Leary, Prince Edward Island, came to rest on the bridge with the tractor perched precariously over the edge. It eventually broke free and tumbled into the river.
Gallant managed to roll down the window before hitting the water and escape from the cab. He climbed onto the tractor and was taken to shore by a rescuer in a small boat. The trucker was treated at Millinocket Regional Hospital for a minor scrape but did not have to be admitted.
Church, 68, was undergoing treatment at Eastern Maine Medical Center. His wife, Rosemary Chruch, 63, suffered minor burns, Snow said.
The trooper said the accident developed when John Church apparently dozed off or was distracted.
The section of I-95, near Exit 233, was closed in both directions as heavy equipment arrived to clear the wreckage and was not expected to reopen until evening.
The trailer, which was hauling potatoes to North Carolina, was destroyed and had to be removed with an excavator.
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