The driver of a tractor trailer died after a single-vehicle accident on U.S. Route 201 on Friday afternoon.
At 3:08 p.m. Friday, the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene, where they found the driver, Leland Moore, 60, of Madison, deceased inside the truck.
The Sheriff’s Office’s initial investigation found that a 2018 Western Star tractor trailer went off the road while heading southbound on U.S. Route 201, striking several trees near the Pierce Road intersection. The truck was fully loaded with tree-length logs.
The West Forks Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department, which also responded to the scene, said in a Facebook post that the logging truck was discovered down a steep embankment about three-quarters of a mile north of 15 Mile Stream Lodge & Outfitters on U.S. Route 201. Emergency crews began an extraction process upon arriving to the scene.
Somerset County Chief Deputy Mike Mitchell said it was unclear why the truck ran off the road and there was no clear signs of impairment, speeding or mechanical failure. Moore was not wearing a seatbelt, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the accident.
The department said logging crews would be on the scene Saturday to begin removing the logs from the embankment, eventually allowing the truck and trailer to be removed. Maine Department of Transportation crews plan to aid with traffic control, the department said.
Along with the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office and West Forks Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department, the Maine State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit and Upper Kennebec Valley Ambulance Service responded to the scene.