15 November 2008
Driver of Semi That Fell Off Overpass Charged
Portage la Prairie Manitoba - The driver of a
tractor-trailer unit that dangled precariously from an overpass just west of Portage la Prairie for hours Friday has been
charged with imprudent driving.
The driver, who is from British Columbia, initially lost control on the ice-covered highway and hit the concrete median
dividing opposing lanes of traffic on the Trans-Canada Highway as he headed westbound up the overpass at around 6 a.m.,
Portage RCMP said.
That caused him to veer across the highway and strike the guard rail of the overpass and he ended up climbing up on the rail, at which
point the tractor, while still connected to the trailer with a load of steel in it, slid along the rail forcing the tractor out
further over the rail.
The tractor then continued sliding out over the approximate 7.6 metre high drop to the CP Railway train tracks below at which point
the jackknifed tractor frame bent at the guard rail directly in front of the drive wheels and dropped straight down. The cab broke
free of the frame and landed on its roof on top of CP telegraph lines that run beside the tracks.
Both males in the tractor, one driver, and one in the sleeping compartment, were transported to Portage General Hospital, treated and
released.
The westbound Portage was closed to traffic while the scene was cleaned up.
Conservation officers, an inspector from Manitoba's department of Bridges and Structres and CP Rail all attended the
scene.
|
