A traffic accident on I-55 Thursday night involving an 18-wheeler carrying live catfish closed both southbound lanes of traffic until 3 a.m. Friday morning.

According to Dusty Boyd, a spokesman with the Mississippi Highway Patrol, the driver of the 1998 Peterbilt 18-wheeler, Jason Gordon of Jennings, La., lost control of his vehicle while approaching a motor home heading southbound, dumping the contents of his trailer on the roadway.

Gordon was driving for Guidry’s Catfish Inc. of Henderson, La. He was not injured, said the patrol spokesman.

The accident happened around 10:57 p.m. Thursday near mile marker 43.

Mississippi Department of Transportation employees were called to the scene for clean up. One lane remained closed until 9:26 a.m. Friday morning while MDOT employees buried the catfish along the roadside.

The driver of the motor home, Dennis Coelleo-Robles of Conroe, Texas, and his passenger, Gady Algeria, also of Conroe, were not injured.

“We’ve had chickens and various other kinds of meats of course, but this is the first catfish spill I have known of,” Boyd said in reference to the accident.