A tractor-trailer tipped over May 16 about 1:10 p.m. because of high speed while trying to merge southbound onto U.S. Highway 95 from the U.S. 95/93 junction, according to a transportation official.
The trailer was holding more than 80,000 pounds of apples, according to a Nevada Transportation Department representative at the scene. A single driver took the curve coming onto the highway too fast with too heavy of a weight, which resulted in the tipping of the heavy rig. The overweight truck slid about 100 yards after the fall. The driver suffered only minor cuts on his left arm. The driver was taken to Railroad Pass Hotel to be picked up, and was not taken to the hospital.
Alcohol was not a factor in the accident, and the driver received a citation for speeding and breaking the weight limit.
Traffic heading southbound was diverted onto the shoulder but didn’t cause many delays on the lightly traveled highway.
“There wasn’t much of a backup,” said Patrick Zozaya, heavy duty tow manager of Ewing Bros. Tow Co. in Las Vegas. “North bound was shut down to one lane and was backed up only a couple of yards.”
Once the rig was brought into the upright position, it only took 10 minutes to get it towed from the scene, Zozaya said.
Boulder City Police was the main agency on the scene, with assistance from the Nevada Highway Patrol.
The Transportation Department arrived at the scene with a crane and air bags. The air bags were placed under the trailer to help raise the truck with the crane. The tin of the trailer had not been cracked in the fall. After three hours, the truck was finally lifted and towed by Ewing Bros.
The salvageable truck is sitting in the Ewing Bros. truck yard and is being sold to a trucking company, Zozaya said.