MILLWOOD — A Dallas, Texas, truck driver escaped with minor injuries in a crash Monday morning, but his truck wasn’t so lucky.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol said William H. Smith Jr., 51, was westbound on U.S. 36 in the Monroe Mills Flats, when the empty tractor-trailer drifted off the right side of the road, down a small embankment and between two trees, where it didn’t quite fit. The tractor hit its left front corner on a tree, knocking the axle back under the truck.
As the truck slid past the tree, the cab was pushed to the right, ripping off the left door. The 150-gallon fuel tank was ruptured, and most of the fuel drained onto the ground. Firefighters, a joint response from College Township and Eastern Knox County Joint Fire District, dammed the ground around the spill to keep it from spreading.
According to the patrol, Smith said he drove off the road to avoid a cow in the road. The patrol report said Smith was wearing his seat belt. Trooper T.J. Franklin charged Smith with failure to control his vehicle.
