I-76 open again after accident involving semi-truck
A part of Interstate I-76 in Youngstown is closed after an accident involving a truck took place Saturday around 10:30 a.m. The crash happened just east of Route 534 westbound, and traffic is being detoured off at Bailey road. According to Mahoning OSP, the truck crashed and lost its load, causing the road to be temporarily blocked off. How long the road will be closed and the cause of the accident are both unknown at this time. Stick with 21 News for updates as more informat...
Troopers say I-76 westbound is now open again after an accident Saturday morning caused it to close.
A part of Interstate I-76 westbound in Mahoning County was closed after an accident involving a semi-truck, and car took place Saturday around 10:00 a.m.
The crash happened just east of 534 westbound, and traffic was being detoured off at Bailey road.
According to troopers, a semi-truck with an oversized load was carrying an excavator in the right lane heading eastbound on I-76.
There was a passenger vehicle heading eastbound in the left lane, directly beside the semi-truck.
State troopers informed that the semi-truck blew a tire, causing a loss of control.
"The driver of the passenger car was really paying attention and not distracted at the time, she was able to take evasive action," said Sgt. Patrick Abel with the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
According to officials, both vehicles went over the median and into the westbound lane. The semi-truck and passenger did not hit any oncoming traffic, however, they ended up on the tree line on the side of I-76 westbound.
Sometime during the incident, the semi-truck lost the excavator it was carrying, and the excavator landed in the berm of the westbound lane.
"Somehow both vehicles managed to go across the lanes without contacting any other traffic on the road is just astonishing that there weren't more injuries or more vehicles involved," said Abel.
There is one minor injury reported for the driver of the passenger vehicle.
Officials say the driver of the semi was not cited.
"He did perform a pre-trip inspection prior to the crash happening, but one of those things where the tire blows and you don't have any control of the vehicle after that," said Able.