PERU — Four Turner youths in a pickup hauling a trailer of frozen sawdust on Route 108 Wednesday night took a wild ride into the woods when the load shifted, state police said.
Neither driver Cody Craig, 17, nor his passengers were injured. They were Desiree Tweedie, 18, Cody Douglass, 16, and Cody Angello, 17, Trooper Paul Casey said early Thursday afternoon.
The accident happened shortly before 9 p.m. while Craig was driving a 2003 Chevy Silverado pickup truck east by the entrance to Dirigo Elementary School at 149 Auburn Road (Route 108).
Casey said Craig was hauling an open trailer with a frozen chunk of sawdust. He said the load shifted to the rear, which caused the driver to lose control of the truck on road slush.
He said the swaying truck veered off the road onto snow packed along a guardrail and went over the guardrail into the woods, striking several trees. Because the trailer remained close to the guardrail, traffic was reduced to one lane by Peru firefighters for about 30 minutes, Casey said.
When the tow truck arrived, Route 108 was shut down for about 15 minutes.
Casey said road conditions contributed to Craig’s inability to maintain control of the truck and trailer. Overall damage to both was estimated at $3,000. There will be no charges, he said.
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