A 2004 tractor trailer truck loaded with sawdust lies Monday on its side on the new Farmington Falls Bridge on Croswell Road in Farmington. The driver, Liam Flagg, 18, of Turner said his load shifted as he tried to negotiate a corner to get on the bridge and the rig tipped over onto the concrete guardrail, Franklin County Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr. said Tuesday. Charlene McGraw photo

FARMINGTON — A tractor trailer truck loaded with sawdust rolled over onto its side Monday while the driver was trying to negotiate a turn on Croswell Road in Farmington, Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr. said Tuesday.

Liam Flagg, 18, of Turner was driving a 2004 tractor trailer from Chesterville over the new Farmington Falls Bridge toward Farmington Falls village along state routes 41 and 156.

“While he was negotiating the left turn, he rolled the vehicle over onto its passenger side which landed on the new bridge damaging the concrete guardrails,” according to Nichols.

Flagg told Deputy Jeff Brann of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office that he felt the load shift when he downshifted from ninth-gear to sixth-gear, which caused a slide-slip and the truck tipped over onto its side, Nichols said.

Brann issued Flagg a summons for a charge of operating with a suspended registration, Nichols said. The concrete guardrail had gouges in it, he said. A conviction on the charge carries a maximum six months in jail.

The Maine Department of Transportation was notified of the crash and came out to look at the bridge. Maine State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit conducted an inspection of the vehicle following the crash.

The tractor trailer truck is owned by Russell Flagg of Livermore Falls, who is Liam Flagg’s grandfather. The younger Flagg was driving the load from Bethel to Athens.

Tim “TD” Hardy, chief of Farmington Fire Rescue, said a crew from that department conducted traffic control and cleaned up a little fluid and debris from the crash. Hardy said he notified Chesterville Fire Department for the need for traffic control on the other side of the bridge.

The bridge was closed to traffic until Dutch Gap Auto of Chesterville could remove the truck. An ambulance was canceled on route to the scene.

The new $10.4 million Farmington Falls Bridge goes over the Sandy River between Farmington and Chesterville and fully opened to traffic late last year.