A tanker truck carrying propane crashed on the Maine Turnpike in Kittery on Wednesday morning, trapping the driver for an extended time and forcing the closure of the northbound exit at Mile 2 near the off-ramp’s intersection with Route 236.
The crash also knocked out power to hundreds of customers in Kittery, an outage that lasted into the evening.
State police spokesman Steve McCausland said the driver was freed from the wreck about two hours after the crash. McCausland was unable to provide the name of the truck driver or his condition.
“The driver was extracted but it took a considerable amount of time,” McCausland said. “The cab was mangled.”
The truck crashed on the northbound exit ramp shorty before 10 a.m., police said, and was still on the ramp at 7:30 p.m. There were no reports of fuel leaking from the truck.
Erin Courtney, spokeswoman for the Maine Turnpike Authority, said the truck had been set back on its wheels by 6 p.m. Wednesday and that crews were in the process of pumping fuel from it. She said that would take about six hours and crews hope to have the tanker truck removed from the ramp before the Thursday morning commute.
Kittery Town Hall remained closed Wednesday because the crash caused a power outage in the area, according to a notice posted on the town website. Town hall was expected to reopen at 8 a.m. Thursday.
Central Maine Power reported 1,870 customers lost power following the crash. Those customers were still without power as of 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the utility’s website.
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