LEEDS — A traffic flagger had to dive to safety Wednesday when a dump truck flipped and slid on its side into a construction site on Route 219.
Timothy Keef of Winslow said he was directing traffic at about 1 p.m. when the dump truck approached with the bed in the upright position. The bed caught overhead wires and flipped, Keef said, forcing him to jump out of the way as the massive rig came crashing down.
“It was coming down the road on its side, sparks flying and everything,” Keef said. “It was pretty scary. I got out of the way just in time.”
The driver of the dump truck crawled out with scrapes and bruises. He was not seriously injured. The rig landed on the rear end of Keef’s pickup truck and partially crushed the bed.
Later Wednesday, Keef was riding home in a tow truck, his GMC Sierra on the hook in the back. The frame appeared to be bent, he said, and the truck was probably a total loss.
“No one got seriously injured, anyway,” he said. “You can replace a truck, but you can’t replace people. I’d say it worked out OK.”
Maine State Police were investigating the wreck. They did not provide the identity of the truck driver or further details about the crash.
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- The driver of a dump truck that flipped Wednesday afternoon sits along the side of Route 219 in Leeds awaiting medical attention and a tow truck. According to traffic control flagger Timothy Keef of Winslow, who said he had to jump out of the way to avoid being crushed, the truck bed was upright when it caught wires overhead and caused the accident.
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