DIXFIELD — Damage was estimated at more than $100,000 to an 18-wheeler hauling more than 15 tons of rolled paper that veered off Route 2 in Monday evening’s snowstorm, police said.
Adnan Ahmad, 25, of Ontario, Canada, who was driving west in the tractor-trailer, escaped injury when he lost control at 6:30 p.m. on the icy road, Dixfield police Sgt. Jeff Howe said on scene Tuesday morning.
The 2005 Freightliner veered off the road on a slight curve and traveled several feet before the trailer rolled onto its side.
A spring snowstorm that began earlier in the afternoon had covered roads with icy slush when the accident occurred opposite M/T Pockets Towing and Repair.
“It was slippery, and I think the guy was going a little too fast for the conditions,” Howe said.
On Tuesday morning, an M/T Pockets crew used a tow truck to offload seven rolls of paper weighing more than 2 tons each before attempting to right the rig.
M/T Pockets crewman Dave Hodgson said the rolls of paper all piled into the front end of the trailer, one atop the other.
The rig is owned by Multiline Transport LTD of Toronto.
Howe estimated damage to the totaled rig at more than $100,000. He said the cab was intact on the outside, but its frame was twisted. Additionally, he said there was likely damage inside the cab.
Howe also said the rolls of Sappi paper may have fractured inside their protective wrapping due to the force of slamming against each other.
Dixfield firefighters stood by on scene to handle traffic and any fluid leakage.
Howe said the accident was one of several that night as many cars slid off icy roads, keeping police and responders busy.
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- M/T Pockets crewman Dave Hodgson, far right, leans against a roll of paper weighing 4,300 pounds while watching fellow crew members try to offload another roll Tuesday morning. The 18-wheeler rolled off Route 2 in Dixfield during Monday night’s snowstorm.
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- M/T Pockets Towing and Recovery owner Bob Riley follows crewman Dave Hodgson into the trailer of an 18-wheeler that rolled off Route 2 in Dixfield during Monday night’s snowstorm. The pair were trying to save the trailer by connecting a wire rope from their tow truck to rolls of paper weighing 4,300 pounds each and pulling them out.
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- On Tuesday morning, M/T Pockets towing and recovery owner Bob Riley, left, gives instructions to crewman Matt Roy, not shown, as Roy slowly pulls a 4,300-pound roll of paper out of a tractor-trailer that rolled off Route 2 during Monday night’s snowstorm. Watching at right are M/T Pockets crewman Dave Hodgson, center, and Dixfield firefighter Brooks Halacy.
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- Eastbound traffic at right on Route 2 in Dixfield on Tuesday cautiously drives past an M/T Pockets towing and recovery crew. The crew was offloading rolls of paper from a an 18-wheeler that slid off the road during Monday night’s snowstorm, police said.
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