Meadow Creek Road in Whitley County was closed to traffic for almost nine hours Monday when a trailer loaded with more than 40,000 pounds of coal overturned.
Woodbine firefighters were called to the scene near Egnor Hollow Road about 8:15 a.m.
The tractor-trailer loaded with coal from a nearby mine was traveling south when the trailer overturned, blocking the road and dumping the coal into a nearby field.
Whitley County Sheriff’s Deputy Cody Harrell said the driver was 44-year-old Randy Petrey of Williamsburg.
“He said he was going around a curve and had begun straightening back up when he heard a pop and saw the load going down,” Harrell said of Petrey adding the reason for the pop has not been determined.
Emergency personnel explained that the road is a designated haul road, meaning commercial vehicles are permitted to use it.
Harrell said the coal truck was going to turn onto Ky. 779, which leads out to Ky. 26.
Kentucky Department of Transportation officials brought in a load of sand to help contain diesel fuel leaking from the truck’s fuel tank.
A wrecker was brought in about 10 a.m. to pull the trailer back onto its wheels, after which the process of cleaning up the coal began.
Woodbine Battalion Chief Rickie Fore said a backhoe and dump trucks were brought to the scene to clear the coal.
About 2 p.m., Woodbine Fire Chief Rick Fore told dispatchers to pass word to officials at the Whitley County School System about the wreck so they could alter bus routes accordingly.
Rickie Fore said the tractor was drivable. However, the damaged fuel tank was drained before it left the scene.
Emergency personnel were on scene until 4:45 p.m. working to clear the wreck.
