Caution! Riblets Ahead

woo!

The following news article is about something important that happened in our town today. Unfortunately, I couldn't be there to help unload the cargo. I was there in spirit, however.

Truck with 42,000 pounds of riblets overturns in Columbia

By DEREK KRAVITZ of the Tribune's staff
Published on columbiatribune.com Thursday, March 13, 2008

A tractor-trailer hauling tons of frozen pork overturned at the Highway 63 connector near the eastbound ramp to Interstate 70 Thursday morning, blocking traffic for much of the day.

Police, fire and emergency crews were called at about 9:30 a.m. after the 2005 Freightliner truck overturned while trying to make a left-hand turn onto I-70 from the connector.

Columbia police said the driver of the truck, 27-year-old Royce W. Whitlow of Conyers, Ga., was going too fast considering the heavy load of the truck, causing it to overturn onto the shoulder of the eastbound I-70 ramp.

Whitlow, who was wearing a seat belt and was uninjured, was given a summons for careless and imprudent driving, Lt. Scott Young said.

“He told us that he took the corner too fast,” Young said. Whitlow refused medical treatment at the scene.

The truck, which is licensed to TransAm Trucking of Olathe, Kan., was hauling a refrigerated trailer carrying about 42,000 pounds of frozen pork riblets to a warehouse in Memphis, Tenn.

Emergency and hazardous materials crews initially were told that there was a significant fuel leak on the highway and possible injuries. But upon their arrival, firefighters plugged a leaking diesel fuel tank and less than 15 gallons of fuel spilled onto the gravel median of the on-ramp. An absorbent material was placed on the ground to pick up any spilled fuel, fire officials said.

Health officials inspected the frozen meat, and much of it was transferred to another trailer brought in from Montgomery City about an hour after the accident, said Battalion Chief Steven Sapp of the Columbia Fire Department.

Gerry Worley, environmental health manager at the Columbia/Boone County Health Department, said this afternoon that the damaged boxes of riblets were en route to the city’s landfill for disposal.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ northeast regional office was also notified of the accident.

Firefighters and emergency crews worked on cleaning up the accident for most of the day, Sapp said. The eastbound ramp to I-70 was closed for about six hours.

“Hopefully we can get the truck turned upright in the next few minutes,” Sapp said shortly before 5 p.m. today. “It’s been a quite a day out there.”