ARUNDEL — A 69-year-old Saco man died Sunday morning on a Route 1 bridge when his pickup truck crashed on the icy surface at about 7:30 a.m.
York County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Bill King said a preliminary analysis shows that road conditions appear to be the sole cause of the crash that killed Richard R. Johnson Sr.
Johnson was driving his 2005 GMC pickup truck southbound on Route 1, and lost control on the bridge that separates Biddeford from Arundel, King said.
He said when first responders arrived, the bridge was iced over and slippery. Temperatures hovered around the freezing mark at that point in the morning.
Johnson’s vehicle crossed over the raised medium, crossed the northbound lane and struck a guardrail.
“The impact caused the truck to turn onto its side, and it seemed to ride along the guardrail on its side, with the roof coming in contact with a utility pole, breaking the pole,” King said. “That impact caused the truck to flip completely over on its top, coming to a rest in the northbound lane.
“Mr. Johnson appears to have died upon impact.”
King said Johnson was retired from the Maine Department of Transportation.
According to Icy Road Safety, one of the most dangerous types of road icing threats comes from bridges and overpasses. A bridge is exposed to air on all of its surfaces ”“ on top, underneath and on its sides, and therefore, it cools down and ices over more quickly than a roadway.
— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324”“4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282”“1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.
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