I-55 lane closed 10 hours by accident

Published 7:00 pm Thursday, June 13, 2013

An 18-wheeler tanker carrying polyurethane overturned in the I-55 northbound median near the Bogue Chitto exit Wednesday evening, causing one lane to be closed for almost 10 hours.

According to Mississippi Highway Patrol Public Relations Officer Rusty Boyd, the accident occurred at approximately 3:15 p.m. Wednesday when the driver of the 2000 Peterbilt truck, Christopher Boutwell, 53, of Plaquemines, La., ran into the median.

No other vehicles were involved in the accident, and the cause is still under investigation, Boyd said.

Subscribe to our free email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

The Brookhaven Fire Department responded to the scene to extricate Boutwell from his vehicle. He was transported to Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center in McComb with neck injuries, Boyd said.

Boutwell was later airlifted to University Medical Center in Jackson.

Officers from the Mississippi Department of Transportation closed the left lane of northbound I-55 to traffic at mile marker 28 from 3:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Both lanes were later closed from midnight until 1 a.m. while the tanker was loaded onto another truck and removed.