Ten dogs thrown from truck after driver falls asleep, Maine cops say. One dog missing
When a driver fell asleep at the wheel of his pickup truck, 10 dogs and a passenger were thrown from the vehicle as it crashed along an expressway, authorities in Maine say.
One dog died and another named Whiskey is missing one day after the crash took place around 9:30 a.m. Sept. 14 on Interstate-95 in Ogunquit, according to state police and the Ogunquit Fire Department.
The driver, 38, was transporting the 10 dogs in a steel cage in the back of his pickup truck, police say. The dogs are beagles and belong to the man, state police spokeswoman Shannon Moss told McClatchy News in a statement.
After the driver fell asleep, his pickup truck swerved into the turnpike’s middle lane and swiped a tractor-trailer, according to police. The truck repeatedly rolled over, causing the passenger to get ejected from his seat.
The 10 beagles were also thrown from the back of the truck and one was found dead at the scene, authorities say. One of the eight recovered dogs was taken to a veterinarian for treatment.
Eight beagles were ultimately recovered after the crash while the passenger, 23, of the Toyota Tacoma was taken to a nearby hospital with serious injuries, state police said in a Sept. 14 news release. The driver of the truck was unharmed.
The Ogunquit Fire Department is asking the public to watch out for the missing dog named Whiskey, as the dog “could be anywhere,” according to a Sept. 14 Facebook post.
Fire officials say some of the dogs had been found miles away from the expressway at Ogunquit Beach and the nearby town of Wells.
The eight dogs were reunited with the pickup truck driver, according to police. Authorities are still investigating the crash
Ogunquit is about 90 miles south of Augusta.
This story was originally published September 15, 2022 at 9:38 AM with the headline "Ten dogs thrown from truck after driver falls asleep, Maine cops say. One dog missing."
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