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Maine truck driver falls asleep at wheel, crashes tractor-trailer in NH

The man reportedly fell asleep at the wheel, drifted off the roadway onto the right shoulder, and then woke up as the tractor-trailer traveled down the embankment.

GREENLAND, New Hampshire — Shortly after 11:30 p.m. Monday, a trooper with New Hampshire State Police Troop A Barracks was on patrol when he witnessed a tractor-trailer was off the roadway in the area of mile marker 9.8 southbound on Interstate 95 in Greenland, a release from the New Hampshire Department of Safety said.

"The vehicle had sustained significant damage from striking numerous trees and other objects, as it came to final rest in the wood line," the release said.

The 2020 Kenworth tractor-trailer was operated by Jarvis Simpson, 65, of Turner, Maine, the release states.

 After members of the Troop G Motor Carrier Enforcement Unit assisted in the investigation, it was determined Simpson fell asleep at the wheel, drifted off the roadway onto the right shoulder, and then woke up as the tractor-trailer traveled down the embankment, according to the release.

Simpson was not injured in the crash, the release states.

"The highway was limited to two lanes for several hours, as crews worked to safely remove the tractor-trailer from the scene," the release said.

Simpson was reportedly cited for operating a commercial motor vehicle while impaired by fatigue, according to the release Tuesday.

The Greenland Fire Department, New Hampshire Department of Transportation, and National Wrecker assisted Troop A and Troop G with the incident.

The New Hampshire Department of Safety asks anyone who may have information about the crash or witnessed the crash to contact Trooper Evan Puopolo at Evan.R.Puopolo@dos.nh.gov.

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