'Driver Inattention' Likely Cause of Trash Truck Crash

Driver inattention is likely the cause of a crash that sent a trash truck crashing through a double utility pole on Monday afternoon, according to Hamilton police.

The investigation continues, including an inspection of the truck by the State Police Truck Team, according Hamilton police Sgt. Stephen Trepanier.

The truck’s driver Jose Hernandez, 38, initially told rescue crews he didn’t want to go to the hospital but because of the significant damage to the truck he was taken from the crash by Beauport ambulance to be checked out.

“He really didn’t want to go,” Trepanier said.

He has been issued a ticket for marked lanes violation and the investigation continues, Trepanier said.

The crash happened at 12:34 p.m. on Monday when a trash truck crashed into a double pole on Highland Street, just north of Gail Avenue.

The truck, owned by Waste Management, was headed north on Highland Street to Brick Ends Farm, which is about a quarter of a mile north of where the crash occurred.

“Another 100 yards and he would have been there,” Trepanier said.

Police will continue to investigate what could have caused the crash, but Trepanier said it appears that driver inattention led to the crash.

“He’s a good driver and he’s been with the company for a while,” Trepanier said.

There’s no sign of cell phone use before the crash and Hernandez did not appear to have experienced a medical episode, he said.

The crashed truck is new and there is no sign that mechanical failure led to the crash, Trepanier said. The truck was not over the legal weight limit, he said.

The state Department of Environmental Protection was contacted after the crash and environmental clean-up company Enpro was called in to vacuum up the diesel fuel. The truck’s 60-gallon fuel tank was almost empty at the time of the crash.

The crash closed down the northbound lane of Highland Street and kept the road down to one-lane until about 6 p.m., after the truck was towed away and the utility pole was repaired. G&J Towing of Revere towed the truck back to a Waste Management facility in Woburn.