Truck Accidents 360 Newswire

SPOTTSVILLE, KY – A driver was arrested after a truck accident Friday, April 16, 2010, in Henderson County, Kentucky. The accident happened in a work construction zone on a Highway 60 bridge in the village of Spottsville, KY. The accident area is near the border with Indiana, 19 miles southeast of Evansville, IN and 136 miles west of Louisville, KY.

At about 1:00 p.m. Friday afternoon 54 year old Steven F. Harkey of Prescott, Michigan was driving a semi truck with a 53 foot trailer for Marine Transport Inc., a boat hauling company based in Au Gres, MI. The truck driver was headed west on Highway 60, approaching a construction work zone which included the bridge in Spottsville, KY.

Construction had started this week on the section of highway and bans had been put into effect prohibiting any vehicles wider than 8 feet from driving in the area. This ban includes all semi tractor trucks. The only exceptions are school buses and emergency vehicles.

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Signs and barriers were in place for several miles on the highway alerting drivers to the ban and the upcoming work zone. The Spottsville Bridge, which crosses the Green River, is already narrow and at the time of the truck accident only one lane about 8 feet wide was open for traffic.

According to Kentucky State Police Mr. Harkey apparently ignored the posted signs and attempted to drive over the Spottsville Bridge on Highway 60. The 18 wheeler crashed into the concrete safety barriers the construction crews had erected. Two workers were in the area having lunch but fortunately neither was injured in the truck accident.

After the truck accident the driver, Mr. Harkey, was arrested by KY State Police Troopers and transported to Henderson County Detention Center in Henderson. According to authorities he has been charged with two counts of Wanton Endangerment 2nd Degree, Careless Driving, Over Dimensional on a Non-Designated Highway, and Disregarding a Traffic Control Device.

The driver reportedly told authorities that the trucking company rerouted him off of the four-lane Audubon Parkway onto Highway 60. He had left Bowling Green earlier and was headed to Missouri.

The impact of the truck accident destroyed the concrete safety barriers and the construction crews had to stop work on the highway. The ruined barriers would have to be removed and new ones set up before work could resume on the project.

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The truck accident also caused delay for the other traffic on the highway as KY State Police had to shut down the one lane while crews replaced the safety barriers.

According to reports although the size ban is posted before trailer trucks reach the construction zone, some drivers have attempted to take their semi trucks through the area. Commercial Vehicle Officers have already given out several citations and state troopers have stepped up efforts to keep 18 wheelers from driving in the restricted areas.

According to KSP, even after Friday’s truck accident they were still stopping drivers attempting to take semi trailers through the construction zone and over the narrow bridge.

The truck accident investigation is complete.

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