Cars get ‘iced’ on I-75

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July 17, 2012

Cars get ‘iced’ on I-75

Overturned semi spreads confectionery mix

By Nita Johnson Staff Writer The Sentinel-Echo Tue Jul 17, 2012, 03:19 PM EDT

LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. — An overturned tractor trailer that spilled cake icing on Interstate 75 resulted in damages to several vehicles and required shutting down the northbound lanes for nearly seven hours.

Friday the 13th proved unlucky for six other motorists whose vehicles were damaged after a 2005 International tractor trailer driven by 50-year-old Miroslaw P. Gabka of Rossville, Ga., overturned near the 42-mile marker in the northbound lane of I-75 just before midnight Thursday.

According to Kentucky State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Officer Steven Douglas, Gabka told investigating officer, Mike Hamblin, his vehicle suffered a blowout, causing him to lose control of the loaded truck. Gabka said he might have hit something in the road, causing the blowout and, inevitably, the wreck that sent the tractor trailer into a guardrail on the right shoulder and down an embankment, spilling its load of cake icing onto the roadway.

Douglas said the report, filed by Hamblin, stated other vehicles traveling in the northbound lane struck part of the debris scattered in the roadway, causing those vehicles to have flat tires and undercarriage damages.

Interstate 75 was shut down between the London Exit 41 and Livingston Exit 49, with traffic re-routed as cleanup efforts began. Douglas said the interstate was re-opened around 6:30 a.m.

Although seven vehicles sustained damages from the accident, no one was seriously injured and no one was taken to the hospital stemming from the incident.

Other vehicles and drivers involved in the collision included a 2006 Ford Ecoline passenger van driven by Rachel A. Johnson, 40, of Ft. Mitchell, S.C.; a 2010 GMC Acadia driven by 39-year-old James Bolen of Indianapolis, Ind.; a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu driven by William Thomas, 42, of Annville, Ky.; a 2006 Toyota Tundra driven by 29-year-old Eduardo Lagos of Ft. Wayne, Ind.; a 2007 Dodge Ram pickup driven by 62-year-old Harold E. Brock of Maryville, Tenn.; and a 1999 Plymouth Voyager van driven by 43-year-old Teresa Pash of Berea, Ky.

Douglas said there were several passengers in the other vehicles, none of which sustained injuries.

“There were no serious injuries, no one was transported (for medical treatment), and alcohol and drugs are not a factor in this so we were lucky from that aspect,” Douglas said. “We had to shut down the Interstate to remove the debris but were able to reopen it around 6:30 (Friday) morning.”

njohnson@sentinel-echo.com

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