The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Police/Courts

January 29, 2008

Log truck, 18-wheeler collide

Amelia A. Pridemore

Two truckers escaped injury Tuesday morning when a tractor-trailer rear-ended a log truck on Sandstone Mountain, spreading debris and diesel fuel across Interstate 64, police said.

At 6:45 a.m., a log truck driven by Charles Vernon Rue of Mount Hope was traveling east on I-64 at Sandstone Mountain, according to Deputy J.L. Redden of the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department. A tractor-trailer driven by Charles Edward Seay, 55, of Morristown, Tenn., was also traveling east.

Seay approached the log truck and attempted to change from the right lane to the left lane to avoid a collision, Redden said. He was unable to do so before striking the log truck in the rear and left side. Seay then lost control of the tractor-trailer, crossing the median and the interstate’s westbound lanes, Redden said. The tractor-trailer came to rest on the road’s left side in a grassy area.

The collision caused a load of logs to break, sending logs plus debris from the tractor-trailer into the eastbound lanes, Redden said. The fuel tanks on the tractor-trailer ruptured and spilled diesel fuel onto the westbound lanes and the grassy area where it came to rest.

No injuries were reported, Redden said.

Seay was cited for failure to maintain control of a vehicle, Redden said.

The Beaver Volunteer Fire Department and Evergreen Environmental Management were called to clean up the diesel spill, Redden said. Crews from the state Division of Highways assisted in debris and log removal from the interstate.

Seay’s tractor-trailer was owned by Heartland Express of Iowa City, Iowa, Redden said. Rue’s log truck was owned by Haga Trucking Inc. of Pineville.

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