FARMINGTON — A Miami truck driver was about three-quarters of the way through a sharp curve during an ice storm Tuesday evening when the truck filled with water began to slide, he said Wednesday.
Jimmy Jimenez Rojas said he thought a large snowbank would stop the tractor-trailer, but it plowed through, shearing off the porch at the home of Richard Faeth at 118 Fairbanks Road just north of the downtown.
Rojas and his passenger, Alfredo Delgado Gonzalez, also of Miami, were injured in the crash. Gonzalez remained in a Lewiston hospital Wednesday with a head injury. The residents of the house were not injured.
Rojas said he was driving down Route 4 from the Poland Spring bottling plant in Kingfield. His GPS indicated he was in a 45-mph zone when he entered the curve at Horn’s Corner, he said, but he was traveling at a slower speed.
He was unaware of the 25-mph speed limit in that area, he said.
Police plan to consult with the district attorney about whether to file charges, Police Chief Jack Peck said Wednesday.
The chief said the 25-mph sign on the southbound lane near the corner was missing at the time of the crash. No one knew how long it had been gone, Peck said.
A Poland Spring spokesman said the company takes truck traffic management seriously and works to ensure the safety, courtesy and professionalism of all drivers who haul water for the company.
“We set rigorous standards for all third-party carriers, including compliance with local traffic laws, safe operations and respect for the communities where we operate,” the spokesman said.
This Poland Spring truck accident was the fifth since April 2016 involving third-party drivers who operate through a contracted trucking company. Most of these were related to inclement weather, the spokesman said.
Rojas, 27, was released Wednesday from Franklin Memorial Hospital, where he received 58 stitches for a deep arm gash. He was intent on making his way to Lewiston to advocate for Gonzalez, who speaks Spanish.
Gonzalez, 23, suffered a fractured skull and was taken to Central Maine Medical Center. The hospital told Rojas on Wednesday morning that Gonzalez was stable but medicated to keep him unconscious.
The two had left Orlando for Massachusetts with a load of orange juice, then traveled to Kingfield for a load of Poland Spring water. It was the first time Rojas had hauled water from Kingfield, but winter driving was not new to him; he lived in Canada for 18 years, he said.
The truck, which weighs 33,000 pounds, was loaded with 44,000 pounds of water. With 77,000 pounds, even the jake brake could not stop it, he said.
The roof of the truck sleeper was nearly sheared off, as was the porch. Gonzalez was moving from the sleeper to the seat when the crash occurred and he was thrown into the dashboard, Rojas said.
Firefighters and police arrived within minutes. Gonzalez was pinned in by debris from the porch and truck, Rojas said.
A Jaws of Life extrication tool was used by firefighters to get him out, said Chief Terry Bell of Farmington Fire and Rescue. They shoveled paths through high piles of snow to reach the truck.
Rojas’ mother in Miami, who knew her son was injured and had no one around to help, reached out to the local community through a private Facebook message to the Farmington Downtown Association.
Michael Blanchet, a Sun Journal advertising salesman, and his fiancee, Mary Ellen Gregory, responded.
They assisted Rojas when he was released from Franklin Memorial Hospital on Wednesday, helping him get new clothes and retrieve belongings from his vehicle. They took him to Wal-Mart where store manager Greg Patterson let him change from blood-covered shorts and a hospital gown to new clothes before he paid for them.
Gregory then took him to CMMC to see Gonzalez.
Rojas said Wednesday he was grateful for the help.
abryant@sunmediagroup.net
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