Truck Accidents 360 Newswire

CALEDONIA, WI – A semi trailer truck and a box truck crashed Thursday afternoon, May 20, 2010, on a Wisconsin highway, injuring two and causing hours of traffic delays. The truck accident, which also involved a passenger car, occurred just south of Milwaukee on Interstate 94 near Highway G in Racine County, WI, near the town of Caledonia. The accident area is the far southeast section of the state, about 94 miles southeast of Madison, WI and about 75 miles north of Chicago, IL.

Shortly before 2:40 p.m. Thursday afternoon a semi trailer truck was going south on Interstate 94, hauling a load of overseas cargo. Locally I-94 is also known as Highway 41. According to the police, as the 18 wheeler traveled through Racine County between Highways G and K near Caledonia, WI the truck driver apparently lost control of the rig and veered onto the right shoulder of the interstate. The driver then tried to pull the semi truck back onto the highway.

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Authorities believe the truck driver may have overcorrected and the force threw the semi trailer truck off balance and it tipped over on its side. After rolling over the 18 wheeler truck slammed into the construction zone median wall, pushing the dividing structure into one of the northbound lanes on I-94. This set off a chain reaction as a box truck traveling north on the interstate slammed into the median wall and a passenger car also hit the concrete structure.

A semi tanker truck traveling in the north lane was initially thought to be part of the multi-vehicle collision, but it was later determined that it was not involved.

When the semi trailer truck rolled over the cargo container separated and fell into the northbound lanes of I-94. The truck trailer spilled a portion of its cargo, leaving debris and other items strewn across the roadway. The box truck was reported to be carrying bakery items and loaves of bread also fell out onto the interstate. According to local fire officials, diesel fuel spilled from the overturned semi trailer truck.

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Emergency workers from the Caledonia Fire Department responded to the two truck accident and treated the victims at the scene. The driver of the semi trailer truck suffered a bruised lung and other serious but not life threatening injuries and was transported by medical helicopter to a hospital in Wauwatosa, WI. The driver of the bread truck was taken to a local hospital via ambulance, treated for minor injuries and released. A third person suffered a diabetic incident on the interstate and was treated at the scene. It is not known if the person was part of the truck accident or a person stuck in the traffic delay.

The Racine County Sheriff’s Department arrived at the truck accident scene and shut down several traffic lanes so rescue workers and highway crews could perform their jobs. A Haz-Mat team cleaned up the spilled diesel fuel. A spokesperson with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation said that the construction zone barrier wall was hit hard by the semi trailer truck and would have to be repaired or replaced.

Wisconsin State Patrol rerouted and diverted traffic around the site of the truck accident. Traffic was backed up for miles with some sources reporting the delays stretching from the border between Racine and Kenosha Counties all the way to Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee.

The interstate lanes were closed for over six hours and traffic delays would last throughout the entire commuter rush Thursday. All travel lanes on I-94 were finally reopened at about 8:30 p.m. Thursday night.

Officials investigating the truck accident do not believe drugs or alcohol were factors in the multi vehicle collision. As of Friday no charges had been brought against the driver of the semi truck that set off the chain reaction collision, but they are expected pending the conclusion of the truck accident investigation.

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