Overturned truck temporarily closes I-55 northbound Friday
Published 9:20 pm Friday, January 3, 2020
- Photo by Clifford Galey A wreck involving a single 18-wheeler occurred early Friday morning on I-55 northbound near mile marker 44, closing the northbound lanes for approximately eight hours.
A crash involving one truck on I-55 northbound near mile marker 44 left two miles of the interstate closed for close to eight hours Friday morning. Mississippi Highway Patrol responded to the call at 2:24 a.m. and promptly re-routed traffic off at exit 42.
“The truck jackknifed and rolled over, blocking the highway,” MHP trooper Craig James said. “There were no injuries. He was the only vehicle involved.”
While the truck was not an oil tanker, it did contain petroleum-based products like antifreeze, and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality responded to the accident.
“DEQ did respond and a hazmat company pumped some containers from within the truck,” James said. “(It was) just a precaution, so it wouldn’t spill when they began. If there was any spillage on the highway as a result of the wreck, it was minimal.”
MDEQ Chief of Emergency Response Cody Fisher said that MDEQ responded to the accident between 7 and 8 a.m.
“We got environmental contractors to pump antifreeze out of the trailer, so they were able to get it out of there,” Fisher said. “Some of the antifreeze did leak out of the tote, but they were able to suck it up and dispose of it properly.”
James did not comment on the cause of the accident, but he did caution drivers to pay attention when driving on the interstate in inclement weather.
“Pay attention to what you’re doing,” James said. “Just because the speed limit is 70, doesn’t mean you need to drive 70. The speed limit is the max speed in perfect conditions.”