LOUDON COUNTY, Tenn. — A truck driver was cited after he lost control of his tractor-trailer on Hwy. 321 in Loudon County on Tuesday and spilled a large amount of garbage out onto the road.
The crash happened at 9:15 a.m. on April 6.
According to the THP report, Marcus R. Wright, 28, of Sparta, was driving west on 321 when he lost control while negotiating a curve to the right. The big rig ran off the left side of the road, struck a barrier and dumped the trash out onto the eastbound lanes.
The truck then turned onto its side and slid onto the Tennessee River Bridge, near the Fort Loudoun Dam, and blocking both westbound lanes. The truck then caught on fire.
Wright was injured in the crash, but we don't know the severity of his injuries. According to the report, he was charged with due care and failure to stay in proper lane.
The road was closed for several hours while the wreck was investigated and cleared.
No one else was injured.
The Loudon County Sheriff's Office is assisting the Tennessee Highway Patrol after an overturned tractor-trailer closed the Northbound lanes of U.S. Highway 321 Tuesday morning.
Around 9:49 a.m., TDOT reported a multivehicle crash at Tellico Parkway and informed that the area was closed to Westbound traffic. Later at 9:55 a.m., officials reported debris on the roadway and that the Eastbound left lane and the left shoulder were blocked
At 10:08, Mark Nagi with TDOT said that the bridge on U.S. 321 Highway in front of the dam in Lenoir City was closed to westbound traffic due to a crash and garbage spill.
According to deputies, the driver of the overturned commercial vehicle was transported to a local ER for evaluation. THP said the person did not suffer life-threatening injuries.
THP is investigating the crash and said that the commercial vehicle was fully engulfed in flames.
The fire has been extinguished and both lanes of the westbound side are going to remain closed for an extended amount of time while other lanes are open, THP added.
