Overturned produce truck blocks section of U.S. 70

Eastbound lanes of U.S. 70 were closed for several hours Monday as workers unloaded an overturned produce truck.

A sleepy driver caused the incident that occurred near the Dover exit in Jones County.

According to the N.C. Highway Patrol, the accident occurred in the community of Wyse Fork at approximately 2:30 a.m. Monday. The tractor-trailer overturned, blocking traffic. Westbound lanes remained open throughout the clean-up.

According to police, Brian Simpson, 27, fell asleep at the wheel of his 2005 Freightliner truck that was carrying refrigerated produce and meat. The truck is owned by Schneider National Carriers.

“The driver fell asleep, ran off the road to the right and overcorrected, which caused the truck to overturn,” Highway Patrol Sgt. G.S. Hemby said. “Damages to the 2005 Freightliner were estimated at $100,000.”

Trooper D.W. Emory said Simpson wasn’t injured in the accident, but left the scene with a ticket.

“(Simpson) was cited for careless and reckless driving,” Emory said.

Traffic was reduced to one lane on U.S. 70 from about 2:30 to 6 a.m., then rerouted after a wrecker and another truck arrived to move the produce and meat from the damaged truck to the new truck.

“They had to break the back door to gain access,” Emory said. “The biggest problem was just getting it unloaded by hand.”

Traffic was rerouted to Wyse Fork Road, to N.C. 41 and back to U.S. 70. Both lanes of U.S. 70 East reopened around 2 p.m.

Managing Editor Bryan C. Hanks contributed to this report. You can reach Jon Dawson at 252-559-1083 or at jdawson@freedomenc.com. Check out Jon’s blog at jdawson.encblogs.com.