The driver of a tractor-trailer truck that demolished a utility pole Friday at Brighton and Stevens avenues in Portland was working his first day on the job.

Traffic was slowed for much of the morning at the busy intersection after traffic lights were knocked out at 8:15 a.m. when the tractor-trailer cut the corner too tightly and snapped the utility pole.

PORTLAND, ME - OCTOBER 9: Truck accident at corner of Brighton and Stevens Avenues. Workers prepare to remove the utility pole snapped off by the truck, right, on a sharp turn.(Photo by) Gordon Chibroski/Staff Photographer

PORTLAND, ME - OCTOBER 9: Workers remove and contain the traffic lights that fell after a semi-tractor trailer truck snapped off at the corner of Brighton and Stevens Avenues. (Photo by Gordon Chibroski/Staff Photographer)

Robert Sleeper, 25, of Lewiston, who received his Class A license to drive a truck on Sept. 28, was turning right from Brighton Avenue outbound onto Stevens when the trailer hit the pole, snapping it off a few feet from the ground, according to authorities.

The truck is owned by New England Fish Co. of Portland, and Sleeper told police it was his first day working. He told witnesses he had been behind the wheel for about 15 minutes when the crash happened.

A person who answered the phone at New England Fish Co. Friday night declined to comment. Attempts to reach Sleeper were unsuccessful.

Sleeper’s driving record shows Friday’s accident was his first crash ever.

A crew from Central Maine Power responded to repair the utility pole and restore power to the traffic lights. The truck was able to drive away on its own power just after 10 a.m. after CMP workers cut off the stump of the pole. The remainder of it was suspended by a CMP boom truck.

Traffic was diverted around the area for more than two hours while workers completed the repair work. The city erected temporary stop signs for each lane of traffic until the lights were restored.

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