Driver killed Friday in tractor-trailer crash on Route 201 in West Forks

WEST FORKS — The driver of a tractor trailer was killed following a single-vehicle crash on U.S. Route 201 Friday afternoon.

At 3:08 p.m. Friday, the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and found the driver, 60-year-old Leland Moore of Madison, dead inside the truck.

The Sheriff’s Office’s initial investigation revealed that a 2018 Western Star tractor trailer was traveling southbound on U.S. Route 201 when it left the roadway and struck several trees near the Pierce Road intersection. The truck was completely filled with tree-sized logs.

The logging truck was found down a steep embankment about three-quarters of a mile north of the 15 Mile Stream Lodge & Outfitters on U.S. Route 201, the West Forks Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department, which also responded to the scene, said in a Facebook post. Medical teams arrived at the scene and started rescue efforts.

Somerset County Deputy Chief Mike Mitchell said it was unclear why the truck went off the road and there were no signs of impairment, excessive speed or mechanical failure. Moore was not wearing a seatbelt, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. An investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the accident.

The department said logging crews will arrive on 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 assist with traffic control, the department said.

The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office and West Forks Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department responded to the scene, along with the Maine State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit and the Upper Kennebec Valley Ambulance Service.

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