Truck crash ‘totals’ Red’s Eats’ deck in Wiscasset
Sun, 08/27/2023 - 11:00am
Red’s Eats deck a couple of days after the accident. BILL PEARSON/Boothbay Register
Wiscasset Newspaper heard Saturday that a truck struck Red’s Eats deck early that morning. Deb Gagnon, co-owner of the famous business at the corner of Wiscasset’s Water Street and Route One, confirmed it in an email response Sunday morning and shared further details:
“Yes, a UPS tractor trailer truck hit Red's Eats’ deck early in the morning. (The) accident happened around 5:40 a.m. THANKFULLY, none of the Red's Eats ladies were there yet, but arrived minutes later. I am so grateful that no one was hurt! The Red's staff, our friends who walk their dogs,” including one who was “up by the front of Red’s Eats when it happened. Thank God he's okay. The driver, thankfully, is also okay with no injuries. So thankful that no one was in the area and hurt.
“The impact shifted the entire deck, broke light posts, tables, planters and lumber thrown everywhere. The cement is cracked and damaged, the granite bollard was thrown through the bottom of the deck and ripped right off the sidewalk, the sidewalk bricks damaged, top deck shifted and weak, stairs shifted and tilted, door to walk-in hard to open due to shifting of deck, etc. Everything Totaled.
“Yes ... definitely has impacted business,” Gagnon continued. “Very stressful. But, again, I am grateful that no one was hurt.” And Red’s was able to open Saturday and keep with its normal hours, she added in a phone interview Sunday.
Wiscasset Police Chief Lawrence Hesseltine told Wiscasset Newspaper Monday, Charles Moss, 37, of Westbrook was driving a 2019 Freightliner truck registered to United Parcel Service (UPS), with no trailer, south on Main Street.
Hesseltine said Moss reported he hydroplaned on wet roads while trying to slow to 25 mph, lost control and ran into the Red’s Eats deck. Hesseltine and Officer Hunter Farrell are investigating. “Speed and fatigue are most likely factors in the crash, no evidence of hydroplaning,” Hesseltine said. “The accident took out a granite post before hitting the deck which ruptured the oil pan. The oil spill caused the southbound lane of Route One to be closed for just over two hours for cleanup,” Hesseltine said.
Maine Department of Environmental Protection was notified of the spill, he added. Wiscasset Fire Department contained the spill with help from Wiscasset Public Works and Wiscasset NAPA, he said.
Hesseltine said the deck “sustained structural damage. This is a case where the damage is worse than what it appears.” Blagdon's Garage towed the truck, he said.
