ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — An 18-wheeler overturned on Nov. 4, spilling explosives and hazardous material and causing a section of State Highway Highway 65 near Rocky Mount, North Carolina, to close.
WNCN reports that the 18-wheeler driven by Jeremy Crews, 43, of West Virginia, overturned at approximately 6:47 a.m. Police said that the truck was en route from Garner, North Carolina, to a rock quarry on Highway 97 in Rocky Mount. The spill caused the N.C. 65 to close in both directions until the evening hours.
Firefighters established the truck was carrying hazardous cargo that had the potential explode. The Raleigh Police Department Bomb Squad was called to safely remove blasting caps and boosters that were on board the vehicle.
The crash site was blocked off to traffic for miles due to the nature of the explosive material. An evacuation radius of about half a mile was also established by police, affecting both residential areas and businesses. That radius was cut down to 300 feet at 3:20 p.m.
Crews sustained minor cuts and bruises in the wreck and was released after receiving EMS care. Crews’s 18-wheeler was the only vehicle involved in the accident and he was alone in the cab.
Police said that Crews assisted police and fire crews with cleanup efforts because he was familiar with how to manage the materials on board.
Crews was charged for traveling at 40 miles per hour on an off-ramp rated for 25 miles per hour, according to Rocky Mount Police Department.
All lanes have reopened as of Saturday morning.
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