CHARLESTON — A Pennsylvania man was injured after a tractor-trailer hauling dog food overturned on state Route 30A in Charleston on Friday.
The truck’s fuel tank was damaged in the crash, causing a “large quantity” of diesel fuel to spill at the scene, according to a news release from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. A section of the road from Corbin Hill Road and state Route 162 was closed for nearly seven hours as crews from the county and state Department of Environmental Conservation cleaned up the fuel and as packages of dog food were removed from the trailer.
The sheriff’s office responded to the scene just before midnight after receiving a call about the overturned tractor-trailer. When they arrived, deputies found a 2023 Freightliner operated by J.B. Hunt Transport out of Noblesville, Indiana, overturned in a ditch on the east side of the road, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies investigated and found that the tractor-trailer, which had been pulling a 53-foot trailer, was being driven at an “unsafe speed” and the driver “failed to negotiate a curve in the roadway.” The truck veered onto the shoulder, hit multiple road signs, then came to rest in the ditch, according to the sheriff’s office.
The driver, a 43-year-old Pennsylvania man, was evaluated by first responders at the scene and transported to St. Mary’s Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. He was charged with traffic violations, including moving from a lane unsafely, traveling at a speed not reasonable and prudent, and disobeying a traffic control device.
After it was emptied of dog food, the tractor-trailer was removed from the ditch, according to the sheriff’s office. Route 30A reopened at around 6:30 a.m. Saturday.