Flagger in good condition after being hit by log truck

DANFORTH – A flagger working at a construction site on Route 1 was in good condition Wednesday at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor after being clipped by a log truck.

Elvira Lafforest, age unknown, of Medway broke her jaw when she struck the ground. She then was taken to Houlton Regional Hospital, according to police, and later taken to EMMC, where she was listed in good condition Wednesday afternoon by a hospital spokeswoman.

Brian Anderson of New Sweden was driving the log truck through the Route 1 paving site after being waved through the intersection by Lafforest, according to Trooper Elisha Fowlie.

The truck’s trailer, loaded with logs, pivoted as the vehicle made a tight left turn. A post from the trailer struck Lafforest in the back, knocking her to the ground, said Fowlie.

The truck was traveling just 1 mph at the time of the accident, Fowlie said.

Anderson was not summoned in connection with the accident, but state police investigators did issue a summons for the truck’s inadequate stop lamps to the owner of the truck, Russell Trucker Inc. of Chester.

The truck also was in violation of a state law regarding the number of straps it had around the logs, according to Fowlie.

The truck had only three straps instead of the four required by law, he said.

No summons was issued for the violation, however, because the state law was enacted only recently, and many companies are not yet aware of the change, said Fowlie.

“It’s a new law, just recently changed, so it’s not a big deal right now,” he said.

An investigator from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Bangor was dispatched to the site shortly after the accident, Bill Coffin, OSHA’s district supervisor in Portland, said.

Depending on where the investigation leads, OSHA could be examining the trucking company, the construction company at the paving site, or both, Coffin said.

The construction company is Lane Construction Corp. of Hermon, Fowlie said.

Coffin was not sure of the number of accidents involving flaggers in the state, but said OSHA had investigated such incidents in the past.

“There are lots of regulations on training and equipment for flaggers to prevent accidents like these,” he said.