MERRIMACK — A tractor-trailer driver from Rhode Island avoided serious injuries after his vehicle crashed in a construction zone early Saturday morning.
State Troopers from Troop B and the Merrimack Fire Department responded to the incident on the F.E.
Everett Turnpike about a mile south of the Bedford Toll Plaza at around 2:20 a.m. on May 4.
The driver, 43-year-old Kenneth Irizarry of Providence, was operating a Ross Express tractor-trailer when he reportedly fell asleep at the wheel.
According to authorities, Irizarry drifted into the breakdown lane, collided with sand barrels, and then crossed over temporary jersey barriers, leaving the truck stuck.
He was transported to a Nashua hospital with minor injuries.
The southbound right lane of the Turnpike remained closed for about three hours while crews from Northeast Truck Services, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, and Audley Construction worked to remove the truck and repair the barrier.
