Last week, we reported about an incident in North Carolina, wherein a truck driver fell asleep, crashed, and spilled a load of thousands of potatoes across I-77.
More details about the accident have now been revealed.
According to The News Observer, trucker Glan Hamblin, around 2 a.m., picked up 50,000 pounds of potatoes in Michigan for a delivery to a Frito-Lay plant in Charlotte, South Carolina.
As Hamblin was driving down Interstate 77 in North Carolina, he became very sleepy and could hardly stay awake. He began to search for a safe and legal place to stop and rest.
No rest stop was in sight.
The trucker tried to say awake as he was afraid to sleep on the exit ramp’s shoulder as he couldn’t afford to be ticketed $600.
He was unable to stay awake and crashed near Exit 9. Hamblin only suffered minor injuries.
The impact of the collision was so violent; it sent his engine flying out of the overturned truck, and a fire started.
I-77 was shut most of the day while clean-up crews cleared the area.
Although the driver admits fault, he also points blame the shortage of rest stops for truckers. Hamblin mentioned that because of the rest stop shortage, the few that exist are usually full.
Apparently, Hamblin normally drives through Western states. He had little experience driving through North Carolina, which, according to a survey, is one of the worst states regarding finding legal rest stops.
In North Carolina, hundreds of truckers have been ticketed, in the last year alone, for illegal parking.
Last year, a complaint was given to Governor Pat McCrory regarding truckers who park for naps along exit ramps. I-77 has a documented shortage of rest spots, and troopers have written most of their tickets in this area.
Hamblin told reporters, “In hindsight, I should have pulled off. A ticket would obviously be better than a wrecked vehicle. It cost me my whole rig, and my way of making a livelihood.”