A tractor-trailer driver from Rhode Island fell asleep at the wheel overnight and crashed into a construction zone in Merrimack, New Hampshire.
State police say troopers responded around 2:20 a.m. to the F.E. Everett Turnpike about one mile south of the Bedford Toll Plaza and found the Ross Express tractor-trailer was stuck.
Troopers determined that the driver, identified as Kenneth Irizarry, 43, of Providence, dozed off as he entered a construction zone, and then drifted into the right breakdown lane where he struck sand barrels and drove over temporary jersey barriers until the truck stopped.
Irizarry was taken to a Nashua hospital with minor injuries, police said.
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The right lane of the southbound side of the Turnpike was shut down for about three hours while crews removed the truck and reset the barrier.
Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to email Trooper Edward Perciballi at Edward.M.Perciballi@dos.nh.gov or call state police dispatch at 603-223-4381.
