BRUNSWICK

A box truck carrying lobster northbound on Route 1 past Cook’s Corner overturned late Wednesday morning, causing a traffic jam whose impact was felt as far away as Freeport.

It took crews more than three hours to clean up the mess.

Brunswick Police Cmdr. Tom Garrepy said the crash was reported at 11:26 a.m. just beyond the northbound Cook’s Corner on-ramp.

The 2016 International refrigerated truck belonged to Cozy Harbor Seafood, Inc. of Portland and was driven by 39-year-old Jose Albino- Horrach of South Portland.

Garrepy said Albino-Horrach had drifted onto the road’s right shoulder and went down the embankment, before the truck rolled over.

The cargo box broke open, dumping crates of lobster onto the ground. The truck was carrying approximately 60-70 crates of crustaceans.

Garrepy said the driver suffered minor injuries and was taken to Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick for evaluation.

Traffic was backed up along Route 1 and Interstate 295 as far as Freeport, Garrepy said.

Police and firefighters helped lug all the crates from the ditch to the side of the roadway. Representatives from Cozy Harbor Seafood had planned to send another truck to retrieved the seafood.

Garrepy said he was told the lobster can’t be eaten because of the length of time they were without refrigeration and exposed to fresh water from the pouring rain.

An employee who answered the phone in Cozy Harbor Seafood’s administrative office declined to comment on the lobsters’ value or what will happen to the cargo. He stated that the company was focused on the wellbeing of their driver.

Garrepy said the driver won’t likely be charged.

When the overturned lobster truck was reported, first responders were already busy with a different collision on Route 1 southbound.

Garrepy said police were dispatched just before 11 a.m. for single vehicle crash in the median halfway between Cook’s Corner and the West Bath town line. A brown BMW driven by James Day of Woolwich hydroplaned, went off the road into woods and hit a tree. Day was taken to Mid Coast Hospital with minor injuries. No charges are expected.

dmoore@timesrecord.com

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