Freight train hits dump truck in Milford

The warning signs of an approaching train were there, but the driver of a dump truck missed them and the truck was hit in the rear by a slow-moving freight train Friday, according to police.

In what was being described as a “close call,” the driver of the dump truck escaped injury, although both truck and train received some damage.

Robert Morin, 72, of Old Town was driving the Freightliner triple-rear-axle dump truck loaded with topsoil when he crossed the railroad tracks on the County Road in Milford, reported Sgt. John Skroski of the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department.

A witness reported seeing the warning lights were flashing and heard the train coming, while the train’s conductor reported that he sounded the engine’s whistle when he saw the dump truck by the tracks. Skroski said that it appeared that all the lights and bells were working at the time of the accident, which was called in at 1:43 p.m.

Morin said that his vision was obscured by the sun.

“It was a very close call,” Skroski said.

The conductor estimated the train was traveling at 5 to 7 mph in a 10 mph zone.

The train struck the right rear quarter of the dump body and one witness reported that for a while it looked like the train might tip the dump truck on its side. Damage to the train and truck was estimated at less than $1,000 for each vehicle, and both were still operational.

The stalled train blocked traffic on the County and Call roads

Three people suffered minor injuries after the compact car they were in skidded off Interstate 95 near Carmel on Friday night and rolled over in a ditch, according to state police.

The accident is still under investigation, but Trooper Seth Edwards said that the driver lost control in the passing lane in the northbound lane just below Carmel Exit 43 about 10:20 p.m. The car skidded sideways, went down an embankment and rolled over, landing on its roof and caving it in, Edwards said.

An off-duty Pittsfield police officer noticed the dust kicked up by the car and then the overturned car and called for help.

Jessica Clark, 18, of Bangor was driving the car and complained of pain to her neck. Her front seat passenger, Victor Bohm, 19, of Dexter, complained of head pain while the back seat passenger, Ryan Robichaud, 18, also of Dexter, had minor scrapes on his arms, Edwards said.

The engine compartment of a minivan caught on fire on Interstate 95 late Friday afternoon, but none of the people inside was injured and the Bangor Fire Department extinguished the flames.

Firefighters were called out to the northbound lane two miles north of the Hogan Road exit shortly before 5 p.m., reported Lt. Tom Higgins of the Bangor Fire Department. The engine compartment was burning, despite efforts by another motorist to put the fire out with an extinguisher. Firefighters quickly knocked it down.

The fire was contained to the engine compartment. The woman and her two children escaped unharmed. The woman pulled over to the side after she saw smoke, Higgins said.

– Compiled by NEWS reporter Doug Kesseli