A truck driver from Cleveland reportedly caused a truck accident in Washington County, Pa. last Monday. No one was hurt in the truck accident but as a result of the crash the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation recently ordered that the bridge be torn down. According to news reports, a 49-year-old truck driver was reportedly heading west on Interstate 70 when the semi truck he was driving collided with the McIlvaine Bridge.
No injuries were reported in connection with this truck accident but the damage to the bridge was so extensive that PennDOT ordered for the bridge to be torn down. “According to Pennsylvania media reports, the driver failed to heed the instructions on his special hauling permit which said that since his load was too large to safely pass under the bridge, he needed to exit the freeway to avoid a collision.”
This is the first time the truck driver from Cleveland has been in a truck accident involving a bridge, according to records. In 2008, the driver was involved in a truck accident while driving an oversized load on Interstate 81 in Cumberland, Pa. when he failed to obey warning signs stating that it was a restricted to vehicles under 14 feet 3 inches. As a result, the driver received 11 citations for the April 2008 collision. The driver failed to appear for hearings in connection with these citations and was later found guilty and fined $65,000.
Investigators are still investigating the cause of the crash and other citations may be handed out once the investigation has concluded.
Source: Cleveland Advocate “Cleveland truck driver hits Pennsylvania bridge” 10/24/2010