A June 2015 accident that took the Wiscasset Fire Department’s ladder truck, Ladder 1, out of service for more than a year is now the subject of a lawsuit. The State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. is suing the town of Wiscasset for the cost of the insurance payment made when the wheel of the ladder truck separated from the vehicle and rolled across the roof of a car parked at the Little Village Bistro.
In a complaint filed in Lincoln County Superior Court last month, State Farm, represented by Cheryl Cutliff, of Basham & Scott, argued that the accident was the result of negligence on the part of Wiscasset and Wiscasset volunteer firefighter Jacob Williams, the driver of Ladder 1 at the time of the accident.
State Farm is seeking a judgment in the amount of $4,356.49, the cost of the repairs and rental reimbursement paid to Northrup and Carole Fowler, of Edgecomb, owners of the 2009 Subaru Outback damaged in the accident.
Wiscasset, represented by Kasia Park, of DrummondWoodsum, has denied the claims of negligence.
During a driver training exercise on June 10, 2015, the lugs sheared off the rear passenger-side wheel of Ladder 1, causing the wheel to separate from the vehicle as it traveled south on Gardiner Road.
The wheel bounced off a utility pole, which knocked out power for a portion of town, and rolled across the roof of the Fowlers’ vehicle before coming to a rest, The Lincoln County News reported at the time. The wheel hit the left rear roof of the Subaru, causing the roof to cave in and the back window to blow out.