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Organizer of monster truck event remains silent after two injured in incident in Topsham

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The crash involving a monster truck at the Topsham Fairgrounds on Saturday is under investigation. The event organizer, Renegade Monster Truck Tour, has not responded to multiple requests for comment. Maine’s Total Coverage has sent several emails and left several voicemails since Saturday’s incident. The Topsham Fire Chief said the only information he has is an email from the event organizer requesting emergency services in advance. The only person in an official capacity to speak to us Monday was Leon Brillant, chairman of the board of directors for the Topsham Fairgrounds. It is a nonprofit organization with volunteers in charge of the fairgrounds and event. The annual Topsham Fair is held there each August. On Saturday, a truck drove over a jump on the dirt track, clipped a power cable and brought down several power poles before landing near the spectator area, injuring two people. “It was an accident, and the truck just jumped too high,” Leon Brillant said. Brillant spoke to WMTW by phone on Monday and said the event organizer had to sign a safety agreement as part of the booking. Brillant would not give the agreement form to Maine’s Total Coverage until he verified it with the insurance company. Brillant said he would rent to the same company again, they have always been safety conscious and he sympathizes with everyone involved. “We never planned for the truck to jump 30 feet in the air and hit a cable. The driver of the truck was very upset about it. He sat in the truck for a while because he was very upset about it,” Brillant said. On Monday afternoon, Maine-based Private Power Services was using cherry pickers to remove the broken poles. The new poles were 40 feet tall, up from 30 feet. “This will definitely give them the height they need,” said Tim Harmon, an employee of the company. After seeing the bystander video, Harmon said it was a miracle no one was killed. “There was power, but there was just flying debris,” he said. The Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office assisted Topsham police. The police chief did not return calls from WMTW seeking comment on the status of the investigation.

TOPSHAM, Maine —

The accident involving a monster truck at the Topsham fairgrounds on Saturday is currently under investigation.

The event organizer, Renegade Monster Truck Tour, has not responded to multiple requests for comment. Maine’s Total Coverage has sent multiple emails and left multiple voicemails since Saturday’s incident.

The Topsham fire chief said the only information he had was an email from the event organizer requesting emergency services in advance.

The only person in an official capacity to speak to us Monday was Leon Brillant, chairman of the board of directors of the Topsham Fairground, a nonprofit organization with volunteers in charge of the fairgrounds and the event.

The annual Topsham Fair takes place there every August.

On Saturday, a truck driving along the dirt track hit a jump, hit a power cable and knocked down several power poles before landing near the spectator area, injuring two people.

“It was an accident and the truck simply jumped too high,” said Leon Brillant.

Brillant spoke to WMTW by phone on Monday and said the event organizer was required to sign a security agreement as part of the booking. Brillant would not provide the agreement form to Maine’s Total Coverage until he checked with the insurance company.

Brillant said he would rent to the same company again, they have always been safety conscious and he feels for everyone involved.

“We didn’t expect the truck to jump 10 meters in the air and hit a cable. The driver of the truck was very upset about this. He sat in the truck for a while because he was very upset about it,” said Brillant.

On Monday afternoon, Maine-based Private Power Services was using cherry pickers on the fairgrounds to remove the broken poles. The new poles were 40 feet tall, up from 30 feet.

“This will definitely give them the altitude they need,” said Tim Harmon, a crew member with the company.

After watching the bystander video, Harmon says it’s a miracle no one was killed.

“There was power, but only flying debris,” he said.

The Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office assisted Topsham police. The police chief did not return WMTW’s calls seeking comment on the status of the investigation.

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