GORHAM, Maine — A dump truck driver learned the hard way that you shouldn’t tempt fate on a covered bridge originally built before the Civil War.
The loaded vehicle crashed into the Presumpscot River Friday afternoon, leaving a hole in the decking in the shape of the truck.
The driver suffered minor injuries, police said, but the same cannot be said for Babb’s Bridge, which was originally built in 1840 and rebuilt in 1976 after a fire. The best-case scenario is that the bridge will be closed for a few months, officials said.
The maximum load on the bridge was 3 tons (2,700 kilograms), and the dump truck carrying crushed rock was “several times that weight,” said Paul Merrill, spokesman for the Maine Department of Transportation.
The truck was traveling from Gorham to Windham when it plunged into the water. Gorham police said the crash was still under investigation. The driver did not respond to messages from The Associated Press.