It was pure mayhem early Friday morning when a tractor-trailer driving along Interstate 77 in Charlotte, N.C., crashed and spilled thousands of potatoes across the the roadway, causing that entire section to be closed while clean-up crews work to remove them.
The incident occurred around 2 a.m. on the southbound lanes of I-77, causing 50,000 pounds of raw potatoes to spill near West Boulevard.
Authorities report that the driver failed to keep his eyes peeled and fell asleep behind the wheel, causing him to lose control and crash into a concrete barrier at the side of the road and overturn. The wreck was so violent that the tractor-trailer's engine flew out and fuel spilled, soaking some of the potatoes in the process.
Two drivers who witnessed the wreck reportedly helped rescue the truck driver, who was rushed to Carolinas Medical Center with injuries that are non life-threatening. He's currently being treated, but it's unclear what his status is.
Following the crash, the North Carolina Department of Transportation brought in front-end loaders to scoop up the potatoes that rolled down the road.
This isn't the first time that traffic has been held up on an interstate due to random objects being released following a truck crash. Last September, a truck overturned on Interstate 35 in Garvin County, Okla, causing hundreds of thousands of bees to be unleashed upon the immediate area. Naturally, the bees weren't too happy about being disturbed in this manner, causing them to swarm and attack nearly everything in sight. Many people were stung, and one officer became trapped in his cruiser when they swarmed the entirety of his car. The matter was eventually settled during the night, but beeworkers had to incinerate several of the crates to prevent the vengeful insects from flying away and attacking more people.
In the meantime, clean-up crews have managed to clear one lane and hope to have all traffic in working order by noon. While this is going on, southbound traffic is being detoured around downtown.
The NCDOT recommends that commuters take Exit 11 onto I-277, loop around the downtown area, then take exit 1-B to return to I-77 South in order to avoid the wreck.
