Fatigue, driver inattention blamed in truck crashes that involved Kittery man

Scene of the first crash involving the Western Express tractor trailer (NHSP photos)

HOPKINTON - A tractor-trailer involved in two crashes on Tuesday was removed from service by New Hampshire State Police Motor Carrier Enforcement Unit officers.

The second of the two accidents occurred around 10:45 p.m. when the unit was requested to assist members of the Hopkinton Police Department with a reported commercial motor vehicle related crash on Route 127 in the area of Contoocook River Reservoir.

Scene of the second crash in which the tractor trailer slammed into a guardrail.

Responding personnel observed a tractor-trailer, owned and operated by Western Express, Inc of Nashville, Tenn., had struck a guardrail. The crash resulted in a portion of the guardrail becoming entangled in components of the trailer, causing significant damage to both a portion of the guardrail and the trailer. Troopers learned that the same operator and vehicle had struck another tractor-trailer earlier in the evening which resulted in substantial damage to the other vehicle.

The operator of the vehicle, Western Express semi, Mark Semple, 63, of Kittery, Maine, was uninjured in both crashes. Semple and the semi were placed out-of-service. An out-of-service order is given to a commercial driver or vehicle that violates a certain set of conditions with the purpose to protect the public from imminent safety hazards, according to a press release from the state's Department of Safety.

The operator was temporarily prohibited from driving and the tractor-trailer was towed from the scene. New Hampshire State Police Troop G were assisted by members of Troop D, the Hopkinton Police Department and the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.

Driver inattention and fatigue are believed to be factors in the crash. State Police are requesting that anyone who may have information, or witnessed the crash, contact the Hopkinton Police Department.