YARMOUTH, Maine — The driver of an Xpress Natural Gas truck hauling gas cylinders has been cited after the truck he was driving crashed into a Honda Sonata on Interstate 295 in Yarmouth on Wednesday morning, state police said.
Jerry Freeman, 55, of Lakeport, New Hampshire was cited for failing to maintain his lane, state police said.
The crash shut down northbound traffic on Interstate 295 near Exit 17 for approximately 15 hours.
At about 9:05 a.m. Wednesday, Maine State Police received multiple reports of a crash on I-295 in Yarmouth involving a commercial motor vehicle and a passenger vehicle. Initial reports indicated the truck had disconnected from its trailer and landed on top of the Honda.
Freeman, driving an XPress Natural Gas tractor trailer, was traveling northbound when he drifted out of his lane as the travel lanes shifted in a construction zone and crashed, state police said. Freeman had been drifting off the side of the highway multiple times, state police said.
When troopers arrived on scene, they found a truck, operated by Xpress Natural Gas LLC of Andover, Massachusetts, had crashed into a line of concrete jersey barriers that had been set up along the detour route of the mile 17 bridge replacement project, state police said. The truck rolled onto its side, into more concrete barriers, then landed on top of a passenger vehicle.
“This crash scene was complex and highly sensitive due to the nature of the product hauled in the trailer,” state police said in a statement. “The trailer, loaded with UN1971 (Natural gas, compressed), was being transported in 51 individual cylinders inside the trailer manifolded together as one unit. This type of trailer is authorized to be transported under a complex special permit issued to the manufacturer of the unit by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (PHMSA). Not visible when looking at the trailer, there are various pipes and valves on the sides and the top of the trailer that if ruptured would cause a catastrophic release of the hazardous material.”
State police worked carefully with other personnel to clear the scene. Xpress Natural Gas fully cooperated with and assisted in the investigation and cleanup, and sent managers, mechanics, 3 empty trailers, and an engineer to the scene to assist, state police said.
“The overturned trailer was offloaded to the extent possible by Xpress Natural Gas, a process that proved slow and arduous,” state police said. “Upon completion of the offloading Mid-Coast Towing attempted to upright the trailer but due to its weight and awkward configuration they were not able to initially do so. Xpress Natural Gas requested the assistance of National Wrecker Service of Eliot, Maine whom they have a company contract to respond.
National Wrecker Service responded with additional resources “and knowledge of the trailer and its construction and ultimately everyone on scene crafted a safe plan to disconnect the Intermodal container containing the 51 cylinders from the trailer chassis,” state police said. Once this was done, the container was loaded onto a trailer, and the State Police escorted the load from the crash scene to Xpress Natural Gas’ location in Eliot, Maine.
“Troop K, the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit (CVEU) consists of a skilled group of Troopers and Inspectors that are highly trained at the Federal level in driver qualifications and mechanical operation of commercial motor vehicles involved in both intrastate and interstate commerce,” state police said. “Additional expert training certifications are held for inspections of commercial vehicles transporting hazardous materials and tank vehicles which authorize the inspection and verification the motor carrier is properly operating in state and federal law, both of which came into play in this crash.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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