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Crash closes I-80 for day
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Robert Weirick of Liberty escaped with only minor injuries after the tractor-trailer he was driving ran off an Interstate 80 bridge in Hubbard Township and exploded. Weirick was found lying on the road at the western edge of the bridge.
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A tractor-trailer accident Wednesday morning sent a portion of the semi over the bridge on Interstate 80 over Mount Everett Road in Hubbard Township. Fire and hazardous-materials crews worked for more than 12 hours to clear the scene, and a portion of I-80 was closed for most of the day.
Staff report
HUBBARD
Robert E. Weirick of Academy Drive in Liberty Township was only about a mile from home when his semi pulling two trailers of freight smashed into a part of the Interstate 80 bridge over Mount Everett Road, producing a spectacular fire Wednesday morning.
One of the trailers flipped over the bridge railing and landed in a fiery pile on the ground next to highway, by a set of railroad tracks and Mount Everett Road, Hubbard Township.
The other trailer and the semi tractor remained part-way on the bridge, with part of the trailer hanging over the edge in another fire.
Miraculously, Weirick escaped the semi tractor and was found lying on the road at the western edge of the bridge, said John Clemente, chief of the Eagle Joint Fire District, which serves Hubbard and Hubbard Township.
Firefighters from the Eagle Joint Fire District and half-dozen other departments put out the two fires after about 30 minutes, Clemente said.
The Trumbull County 911 Center got the first call at 4:42 a.m. reporting a semi had hit a concrete barrier and exploded, and a second caller a minute later said the flames were visible from the Truck World Truck Stop at the U.S. Route 62 and state Route 7 interchange.
Shortly thereafter, a witness reported seeing a man on fire running from the semi and rolling around on the ground to extinguish the flames.
The accident closed the westbound lane of I-80 throughout the day, requiring traffic to be diverted.
Justin Chesnick, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Transportation, said one lane of the westbound lane reopened Wednesday night. The second lane remained closed at press time.
A guardrail just east of the bridge and railings on top of a side wall needed to be repaired or replaced before traffic could use the passing lane, Chesnick said.
The bridge did not suffer any structural damage, he added.
Trumbull County HazMat Chief Don Waldron said Weirickâs trailers contained a hazardous chemical called ethanolamine, as well as containers of propane and petroleum oils and greases.
The propane tanks were exploding as Clemente arrived on the scene, Clemente said.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol said Weirick suffered minor injuries and was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center for treatment. No other vehicles were involved in the crash, and no firefighters were injured, Clemente said.
Meanwhile, the highway patrol is investigating a fatal single-car accident on U.S. Route 422 that occurred at 9:40 a.m. Wednesday just west of state Route 305 in Southington Township.
The vehicle was eastbound and hit a tree on the right side of the road, the highway patrol said.