A utility truck crashed through a guardrail on Interstate 295 and off an embankment on Tukey's Bridge in Portland Wednesday morning, landing on its side partially submerged in the water near the wastewater treatment plant.
Curtis Trimmer, who works for the Portland Water District, said he and a coworker were watching the floodwaters by the East End Wastewater Treatment Plant near the bridge when the crash occurred.
"All of a sudden, we heard a loud noise, the truck came flying over the railing [and] kind of did a nosedive onto the trail and ended up in the water after that," Trimmer said. "We just rushed down to make sure those guys were OK. I ran down and got in the water and helped pull them out."
Deputy fire chief Chad Johnston credited Trimmer and others with helping the victims get safely to shore, before emergency responders arrived to get them to the hospital.
"Thank you to the civilians that were on scene that helped get them out and then our crews were able to get them you know swiftly to the hospital," Johnston said, adding the condition of the victims was not yet known.
Johnston said the Coast Guard has been called in to contain a fuel leak from the truck, and Maine State Police are handling the investigation into what caused the crash.
