Maine Man Operating Street Sweeper Hit By Passing 18-Wheeler

It was a chaotic scene that unfolded in a rural part of Maine on Monday morning.

The Kennebec Journal reported that Michael Churchill, 45, of North New Portland was operating a street sweeper on Route 16 in the small town of Coplin Plantation when an 18-wheeler approaching from behind struck the equipment and threw the driver off it.

Coplin Plantation is situated in Franklin County near the Maine town of Stratton.

According to 2020 census information, there are only about 131 people who live there.

First responders got to the scene of the crash and called for LifeFlight, according to the newspaper, and crews were able to load Churchill into the helicopter to be flown to the hospital.

At this time, the condition of the street sweeper driver or which hospital he was taken to is not immediately known, according to the Kennebec Journal.

Reports say that the driver of the 18-wheeler, 18-year-old Timothy Decker from Farmington, was coming up on the equipment but was unable to see exactly where it was due to the amount of dust that was in the air at the time.