The driver of an 18-wheeler escaped serious injury when his truck overturned outside of Pinebluff in the early morning hours Tuesday blocking one of the southbound lanes of the highway for more than 4 and ½ hours.
Emergency responders were dispatched shortly after 2:00 am to reports of a tractor-trailer overturned in the southbound lane of US Highway 1 approximately half of a mile before reaching the Richmond County line.
When responders arrived on the scene the truck’s driver had already gotten out of the overturned vehicle through the windshield of the truck.
The driver was evaluated by paramedics and although he was shaken up he appeared to be uninjured and refused transport to the hospital remaining at the scene of the accident.
The truck owned by Williams Brothers Trucking out of Sanford was loaded with woodchips being hauled to Bennettsville South Carolina.
One lane of US Highway 1 in the southbound direction remained blocked until just after 6:40 am while officials worked to investigate the accident and right the overturned truck.
Responding tonight were units with Pinebluff Fire & Rescue, Moore County EMS, Moore County Sheriff’s Department, and the NC State Highway Patrol.
The cause of the accident remains under investigation by the NC State Highway Patrol.