18-Wheeler Rolls Over, Shuts Down 45 Bypass Ramp
JACKSON, Tenn.–An 18-wheeler tipped over in north Jackson on Wednesday and spilled about 40 tons of steel blocks onto the road. The accident closed the Highway 45 Bypass on-ramp at Passmore Lane for several hours. “When I looked out the back window when I was making the turn, I felt a big clump,” said John Branch, the driver. When the truck tipped around 9:15 a.m. About a dozen large steel chunks spilled onto the road. “I looked over and my tire was off the ground when I made the turn, and I slammed on the brakes,” said Branch. “When I did, it just turned over.” Branch said the load in the trailer shifted to one side when he turned. “It was too quick to think,” he said. Police shut down the southbound ramp to the bypass for about two and half hours. “We went ahead and shut everything down just to keep, for our safety and for the safety vehicle, that way to keep traffic off of us while we’re working on it,” said Sergeant Phillip Whitman, with the Jackson Police Department. Crews called in a crane to clear the blocks out of the road. Police estimated the blocks weighed about 6,000 pounds each. Branch started driving trucks nearly 20 years ago. He said accidents like the one Wednesday are rare. “Well, it don’t happen to me,” said Branch. No one was hurt in the accident. Cleanup crews cleared the scene and reopened the ramp just before 12 Noon Wednesday.
