Another tractor-trailer tipped over in Tibbets Forest on Tuesday when the bridge expansion joints he was hauling shifted on a corner.[private]The accident happened a quarter mile west of Stewarts in Hoosick on Route 7. Traffic was detoured at Stewarts down Route 22. Eastbound traffic was detoured at Babcock Lake Road. The driver was unhurt.
When first responders came upon the scene, it was touch and go. The truck took down a power pole and the lines were lying on the truck. One hundred yards west of the truck a two and one-half inch diameter power wire was lying in the road on fire with a continuous huge arc. Responders didn’t know what was around the corner. All responders were instructed not to touch the metal guard rails. For 30 minutes, the driver had to remain in the truck until National Grid arrived to cut power to the wires.
The driver said he stopped a mile before the scene because he saw one of the wooden beams separating the expansion joints was loose. He secured the load to his satisfaction and continued on. When he entered the corner, just east of the Route 7 pulloff at Shingle Hollow Brook, the top expansion joint shifted and the truck began to tip. The load slipped to the left (port) side of the trailer but the driver said he was able to keep everything upright by steering the truck off the road instead of trying to stay on the road. The front end of the truck received considerable damage from hitting a tree.[/private]