Moose Causes Tractor Trailer Crash on the Interstate in Richmond

A tractor-trailer fully loaded with potatoes from northern Maine went off the Interstate highway Tuesday night after the driver swerved to avoid a moose.

State police say the accident happened around 10:15 p.m. in the southbound lanes of I-295 in the coastal Maine town of Richmond.  State Troopers and Sagadahoc Sheriffs Deputies responded to the crash.

The driver, 63-year-old Marc Benoit of Hampden, Massachusetts told police that he swerved to avoid a moose that had run onto the highway and he lost control of the rig.

The tractor-trailer went off the median side, traveling several hundred feet before striking a cross-over embankment and ended up in a boggy ravine,  according to a press release from the Public Safety Department.  The impact broke the box portion of the truck in half,  spilling the load of potatoes .

Benoit sustained minor injuries to his legs and was transported to Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick.

The truck, owned by AJA GO Transportation, was bound for Connecticut with a load of potatoes from northern Maine.