In 1971 J. Standard Baker Quoted " Drivers Towing Trailers  Are Four (4) Times As Unsafe As Those In Cars Alone! 

Maine State Police mourn death of detective in freak accident on interstate

Detective Benjamin Campbell was helping a stopped motorist on I-95 in Hampden when he was hit by one of two wheels that came off a passing logging truck, police say.

Why Did The Wheels Come Off ?  Can Someone Answer My Question!

A Maine state police trooper on the scene of a disabled car died on Wednesday after he was hit with a stray truck wheel, officials said.

“Our hearts are broken at the loss of our brother Det. Ben Campbell,” the Maine State Police wrote on Facebook. “Rest in Peace, brother. We have the watch.”

The deadly incident happened around 7:30 a.m. on Interstate 95 in Hampden, state police said in a separate post.

ILLINOIS STATE TROOPER KILLED IN WRONG-WAY CRASH, MARKING 2ND DEATH IN 3 DAYS

“The trooper was out of his vehicle at the site of disabled car along the Interstate and the other vehicle involved in the crash was a tractor trailer,” the post said.

Campbell was attending to the disabled vehicle when two wheels detached from a truck passing by, state police said, according to The Associated Press. One of those wheels hit Campbell, Maine State Police Chief John Cote said.

Campbell was transported to a hospital in Bangor, Maine where he passed away, according to state police.

The driver of the involved truck was identified as Scott Willett, who pulled over after the wheel became detached, Cote said.

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Maine Gov. Janet Mills issued a statement on Twitter after the fatality, which said she ordered that U.S. and state of Maine flags be flown at half-staff across the state on Wednesday.

“On behalf of the people of Maine, I express our deepest and unwavering gratitude for Detective Campbell's service,” she wrote on Twitter. “Together let us keep his family, friends and loved ones, along with Maine’s entire law enforcement community, in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A Maine state trooper was killed on Interstate 95 in Hampden on Wednesday morning when he was struck by one of two wheels that detached from a passing logging truck while he was assisting a stopped motorist.

Detective Benjamin Campbell Photo courtesy of Maine State Police

Detective Benjamin Campbell, 31, of Millinocket was killed just south of the Coldbrook Road overpass in the southbound lanes of I-95 just after 7:30 a.m., Maine State Police Colonel John Cote said. Campbell had stopped his department-issued, unmarked Ford Explorer SUV and activated his blue emergency lights to assist a driver who had spun out on a slippery section of the roadway, Cote said.

After the two wheel and tire assemblies became detached from the truck, one of the wheels struck Campbell while the other rolled harmlessly into the median. He sustained massive injuries from the impact and was later pronounced dead at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

Cote said troopers are offering support to Campbell’s family, including his wife, Hillary. Campbell is also survived by a 6-month-old son, Everett.

“We know that together we’ll get through this,” Cote said, holding back emotion. “But it’s been a tough day.”

The driver of the truck, Scott V. Willett, 52, of Patten, is the owner and operator of Scott Willett Trucking, Cote said. He was hauling a load of logs at the time. Willett stopped the vehicle after the tire and wheel assemblies came loose.

Willett owns two tractor-trailers and primarily hauls logs or lumber and potatoes, and is authorized to conduct trucking operations inside Maine but not across state lines, according to the federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which regulates interstate trucking.

Willett has had no moving violations in the last 10 years, according to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. He was twice cited during the same period for commercial vehicle-related issues: in 2009, one of his trucks was found to be over a weight limit, and in 2011, Willett violated regulations that govern how many hours per day a trucker may spend behind the wheel.

According to federal records, both of Willett’s trucks were inspected in 2018. State police did not specify which tractor-trailer was involved in the crash Wednesday. One of Willet’s vehicles, a Freightliner, had no defects when it was inspected in February 2018.

The other truck, a Kenworth, was given a walk-around inspection in June 2018, resulting in violations for the truck being more than 5,000 pounds over the allowable weight limit. At least one of the truck’s tires also had below the minimum amount of tread.

State troopers comfort each other Wednesday evening after escorting the body of Detective Benjamin Campbell to the Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta. Kennebec Journal photo by Andy Molloy

Maine State Police reinspected the vehicle in November 2018, and conducted a more thorough examination that yielded more safety violations in the steering and the braking systems, along with a fuel leak, which together were serious enough for police to temporarily take the truck out of service until repairs were made.

A message left on a cellphone number listed for Willett was not returned Wednesday night.

The driver of the disabled vehicle, which was partially blocking one lane and was the reason Campbell stopped, was not immediately identified. Cote said that person witnessed Campbell’s injuries and was among the first to call 911.

Cote said Campbell joined the Maine State Police in 2012 and was promoted to detective in 2016. He worked as a member of the state police polygraph team, and was on his way to a training session when he saw the disabled vehicle near the Bangor exit.

Campbell always saw the best in people and stayed optimistic during difficult situations, Cote said. And he had a radiant smile and warmth. People naturally liked to talk to him, a fact that made him a great polygraph examiner, Cote said.

Cote said there is no indication that the driver of the truck had violated state law requiring drivers to slow down and move over for stopped emergency vehicles, but said the truck appeared to have been changing lanes before or during the time the wheels became detached.

State troopers salute as the body of Maine State Police Detective Benjamin Campbell is escorted to the state Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta. Gov. Janet Mills issued a statement saying, “Our state is heartbroken over the loss of Detective Benjamin Campbell.” Kennebec Journal photo by Andy Molloy

Cote said there is no reason to believe the wheel separation was caused by weather. Cote said the initial spinout by the disabled vehicle was likely caused by slippery conditions on a bridge overpass, where roadways typically freeze first.

There was light snow in nearby Bangor around the time of the crash, with temperatures around 33 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Gov. Janet Mills ordered flags lowered to half staff immediately throughout the state Wednesday, and issued a statement expressing her deepest condolences to the Campbell family.

“Our state is heartbroken over the loss of Detective Benjamin Campbell,” Mills said in the statement. “Maine’s law enforcement professionals put themselves in harm’s way every day to protect our state, keep our communities safe, and help our fellow citizens. Detective Campbell dedicated his career to fulfilling that mission and, ultimately, gave his life in service of it. On behalf of the people of Maine, I express our deepest and unwavering gratitude for his service. Together let us keep his family, friends, and loved ones, along with Maine’s entire law enforcement community, in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”

The last Maine state trooper killed in the line of duty was Detective Glenn Strange, who died of heart problems in October 1997 six days after he was punched and kicked in the chest by a drunken-driving suspect being arrested in Linneus.

Cote said there is no indication that the driver of the truck had violated state law requiring drivers to slow down and move over for stopped emergency vehicles, but said the truck appeared to have been changing lanes before or during the time the wheels became detached.

State troopers salute as the body of Maine State Police Detective Benjamin Campbell is escorted to the state Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta. Gov. Janet Mills issued a statement saying, “Our state is heartbroken over the loss of Detective Benjamin Campbell.” Kennebec Journal photo by Andy Molloy

Cote said there is no reason to believe the wheel separation was caused by weather. Cote said the initial spinout by the disabled vehicle was likely caused by slippery conditions on a bridge overpass, where roadways typically freeze first.

There was light snow in nearby Bangor around the time of the crash, with temperatures around 33 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Gov. Janet Mills ordered flags lowered to half staff immediately throughout the state Wednesday, and issued a statement expressing her deepest condolences to the Campbell family.

“Our state is heartbroken over the loss of Detective Benjamin Campbell,” Mills said in the statement. “Maine’s law enforcement professionals put themselves in harm’s way every day to protect our state, keep our communities safe, and help our fellow citizens. Detective Campbell dedicated his career to fulfilling that mission and, ultimately, gave his life in service of it. On behalf of the people of Maine, I express our deepest and unwavering gratitude for his service. Together let us keep his family, friends, and loved ones, along with Maine’s entire law enforcement community, in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”

The last Maine state trooper killed in the line of duty was Detective Glenn Strange, who died of heart problems in October 1997 six days after he was punched and kicked in the chest by a drunken-driving suspect being arrested in Linneus.

The Maine State Police is divided into troops that are each responsible for patrolling a large swath of the state. The stretch of I-95 where the crash occurred is patrolled by Troop E, which also is responsible for all of Penobscot and Piscataquis counties, and is led by Lt. Sean Hashey, according to the state Department of Public Safety.

Campbell’s family has requested that he be given full line-of-duty death honors, and plans for his funeral and memorial will be announced in the coming days, Cote said.Share
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In Millinocket, residents reacted to Campbell’s death “with shock and extreme sadness not only for the loss of the trooper but the loss to their young son,” said Michael Madore, a Millinocket Town Council member whose children attended Stearns High School with Campbell’s wife, Hilary.

“Certainly, you never want to hear something like this, but when it is a young and happy couple in the community where both are well liked and well respected, you really hate to see tragedy like this,” said Madore, who attended Stearns with Hilary’s father, Steve Arsenault.

Hilary’s mother, Lisa Arsenault, is the vice president of human resources at Millinocket Regional Hospital.They All Know About "Wheel Offs"  and They Did nothing

By Charles Eichacker, BDN Staff • April 3, 2019 3:30 pm
Updated: April 3, 2019 6:13 pm

The Maine State Police detective who died after he was struck on the side of Interstate 95 in Hampden on Wednesday morning had served about 6½ years on the police force and was a new father.Ben Campbell, 31, was sworn in as a Maine State Police trooper in August 2012 and spent much of his early career patrolling northern Penobscot County, according to past reporting by the BDN.

[State police detective fatally struck by truck tire on I-95 in Hampden in ‘bizarre’ accident]

MEMO:  Stop Calling This Bizzarre...it is happening all the time now!

After five years on patrol, he was promoted to detective in August 2017 and assigned to the Maine State Police polygraph unit, according to the agency’s Facebook page.

He was to turn 32 on Monday.

He leaves behind his wife, Hilary, a physical therapist at Millinocket Regional Hospital, and a 6-month-old son, Everett. The family lives in Millinocket, and Campbell grew up in Easthampton, Massachusetts.

Maine State Police Col. John Cote on Wednesday said Campbell had “a textbook smile.”

“He always saw the good in whatever was going on,” Cote said. “He always focused on the positive. When he stepped in, the smile was just part of him.”

During a Wednesday afternoon news conference at Maine State Police barracks in Bangor, Cote recalled the times he met Campbell in person, including at his 2017 promotion to detective.

“When he had a chance to introduce you to his wife, Hilary, he just glowed. He glowed,” Cote said. “He was so proud and loved her so much, and he introduced you to her, and he’d just won the lottery. He took such pride in his marriage, in his new son.”

Campbell was on his way to a training assignment Wednesday morning when he stopped to help a car on the side of the I-95. That’s when two tires on a passing logging truck detached from the truck and separated. One rolled into the highway median and the other struck Campbell.

It was in Campbell’s nature to help others, according to Cote.

“He was a guy that was always going to see the good in people, and he was a great polygraph examiner because people would talk to him,” Cote said.

That’s also why the detective pulled to the side of the road Wednesday morning, even though he wasn’t on patrol duty.

Although he was headed to be an instructor at a training assignment, he didn’t hesitate,” Cote said. “He saw that person was there in need of assistance, and that became his priority.

“He didn’t know any other way to do it.”

[Maine first responders pay respects to trooper killed on I-95 in Hampden]

Ben Campbell “was known here as an extremely professional young man, and compassionate,” Madore said.

BDN reporter Nick Sambides Jr. contributed to this report.

Maine state trooper killed after being struck by detached wheel on interstate, officials say

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Now the truth:

Farmers have lobbied the political establishment to not have FEDERAL safety regulations on

Farm Vehicles

Logging Trailers And Trucks

Hayrides

Equipment

And In Commities meetings they always say this:

Any Safety Regulations imposed on "FARMERS" will harm the family farm.

Well Just like www.dangeroushayrides.org

Farmers and the logging industry has just killed another innocent person.

I have questions:

One - Inspection records of trailer and truck

Two- Pre Trip Inspection was it performed?

Three- Was the driver CDL certified?

Four- Chain Of Custody Of Failed Equipment

Five- Who is in charge of the investigation?

Six- What equipment?  How many of the same wheel assembly's are on the roads?

Seven- If this was a jet engine that came off the wing of the Boeing 737 Max 8 everybody would be asking questions right?

In Less Then 2 Weeks....What Does These Two Precious Lives Have In Common?    They were both killed by "Flying Defective Tires And Rims"  And Over 100 Will die in 2019 by the same issue.  Why No Action? 

Look At These Photographs Of The Accident...Why Did The Entire Wheel Assembly Come Off The Axle?????

Will The State Crash Team really do an investigation as to "Why Did The Trailer Tire And Rim Come Off" or are they going to play games in getting our answer like they always do......with ordinary average men, women and children? Will the Media hold them accountable like they have with the "Russian Collusion That Took 2 1/2 Years while in the same time over 1,000 have been killed by defective hayrides, parades, homemade trailers, Utility trailers and yes runaway trailer tires and rims.  Stop Calling these

"Freak Accidents" 

"

Detective killed on I-95 would always ‘see the good in people’

Updating For The Next 2 Hours Ts Has happened before click the buttons and find out the truth! 

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