Archive for the ‘Food’ Category

Got Milk? Cookie Spill.

On Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2008, a container apparently fell off a tractor-trailer on I-95 on the ramp onto I-476. The container ripped open, spilling cookies on the ramp and onto I-476 below. Nobody was injured. Workers had to lower the container over the side onto the highway below because it was dangling over the edge. It took 5 hours to clean up the cookies, which were made in Honduras.

 

Channel 6 ABC

On Thursday, July 5, 2007, a truck crash spilled hundreds of watermelons across the interstate exchange in Cincinnatti.

Unfortunately, the driver, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was killed when he lost control of the truck.

The truck ran into a guardrail and overhead bridge support on the ramp from northbound Interstate 75 to westbound Interstate 74. The truck rolled over and the trailer was torn open in the crash, throwing its load of fruit across the road and under the overpass.

The ramp remained closed until about 7 p.m. while crews cleaned up the fruit.

 

WLWT

On September 26, 2007, a semi-truck overturned on I-471 South near Cincinatti at the Southgate, Ky. exit. The truck spilled rotten wieners, sausages, and other processed meats on the highway. One report listed hot-dogs, lunch meat, and hamburger meat. The road was closed for most of the day while crews cleaned up the disgusting mess. No one was hurt in the accident.

The truck was owned by Griffin Industries, which recycles animal and bakery by-product. (I’m curious what they recycle rotten hot-dogs into).

Reports were that the aroma from the accident will likely linger for some time.

 

Local 12, Cincinatti

This spill is awesome, although it’s not technically a truck spill, but a ship spilling a container that probably would have eventually been on a truck (close enough).

In November, 2006 a cargo container full of Doritos apparently fell off a ship. After drifting for several days, it was discovered by charter captains in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, who broke it open and helped themselves to the snacks (although I’m sure they didn’t know what was inside until they broke it open).

Eventually, the container came ashore in Frisco, just south of the Cape Hatteras Fishing Pier, along with much of it’s cargo. Thousands of bags of Doritos were washed up on the beach. Residents stuffed garbage bags with the tasty treats, which were still fresh, since the bags are airtight. One person filled a truck with the chips.

The Marine Safety Team in Elizabeth City was dispatched. They are responsible for cleaning up hazardous material, but when they found out it was Doritos, they determined it was not a contamination threat.

 

The Virginia-Pilot. Photos by Donna Barnett, Barbara Satterthwaite

On September 17, 2007, drivers in West Michigan found themselves in a pickle (sorry).

A truck travelling Northbound on US131 in Kalamazoo County lost it’s load of cucumbers, littering the highway for half a mile. Drivers that were behind the truck stopped and picked up some of the cukes. Officers were worried that the veggies would attract deer to the roadway, so they cautioned drivers to watch for them while passing the area.

 

WWMT

Nooooo! Highway 401 in Mississaugua (Canada, I believe) was closed on May 11, 2005 after an accident that spilled 2,184 cases of Grolsch beer. A woman driving a car, swerved out of her lane and into the path of a Molson beer truck, causing the truck to roll over and the car to flip. One officer described the scene as “a sea of beer”. The woman’s life was most likely saved by her seatbelt and airbag. The beer was a gonner.

See below for the Great Beer Spill Controversy!

UPDATE 3/5/08: Wow! www.truckspills.com has gotten a lot of attention in the past few weeks. And apparently this story has upset a lot of Canadians who apparently do not appreciate being blamed for spilled beer. The original news story I got this photo from did say that it was “Highway 402 in Mississaugua”. The website was a Canadian newspaper. Another report said “heading north on the Trans Canada Highway to Thunder Bay”.

But I have received quite a few emails that range from mild comments to outrage over the location of this spill. Some quotes…

“That is a 2 lane road. The Hwy 401 in Ontario (which does indeed run through Mississauga) is never narrower than 4 lanes with a divided median, and is in fact 16 lanes wide at some points. Keep up the cool site!”

“…that aint Canada, that’s in The Netherlands! So maybe you should update it or something, cause it sure is in Holland.
Reasons why this is:
– Grolsch is Dutch beer
– The police officer and woman wear Dutch police outfits
– The poles next to the road are the same used here in The Netherlands
– The road and the scenery look like here, probably somewhere on ”De Veluwe” (a big forest/nature thingy)

Cool! I didn’t realize that I was living in Canada….
I don’t know where you came up with the beer spill story, but that is complete BS. It wasn’t in Canada, but in the home country of Grolsch beer The Netherlands. Location: near the city of Mariënberg and if you really want to know the road: it was the N36… 😀
Two trucks crashed and one of them had beer on board!

This one’s just about your Beer Spill article. As I’m writing this, you have “Highway 401 in Mississaugua (Canada, I believe) was closed on May 11, 2005” on the page. Just to correct it, it’s spelled “Mississauga” and it is indeed in Canada. Right next to Toronto, if that helps.

As a Canadian an proud beer drinker, I checked out the page on the spilt beer to mourn this tragic loss….
While you say it takes place in Canada (first Mississauga and then the Trans Canada), I can 100% confirm that this is not a Canadian event.
The vehicles (trucks and cars) in the pictures are not models sold in North America. Also, the road marking standard here is a yellow centerline with white lane markers (edges).

The consensus so far is that it was in the Netherlands. If anyone can find an actual news report on this, I’ll gladly post it here to clear up the controversy.

This site also claims it was Canada, but they could have swiped it from me.

Beer Crimes

Will this ever be cleared up? We strive for accuracy! On the bright side, my further research has turned up the new photo posted above. Does anyone know this beer drinker? He has the answer!

 

thestar.com

 

 

 

 

A Truck full of sugar beets overturned near East Grand Forks on October 2, 2008. The driver and his passenger were OK, but the driver suffered a cut on his head. Apparently the truck turned the corner too fast and lost control. A semi hauling sugar beets rolled over south of East Grand Forks this morning, spilling its load onto the road, shoulder, ditch and beyond.

The crash, which was reported around 9 a.m., left the rig lying on its side in the middle of Highway 220, causing authorities to block off a stretch of the road.

The driver and a passenger, both men, were in the cab when it rolled. The driver suffered a cut to his head.
Law enforcement and rescue personal standby on Minnesota Highway 220 South of East Grand Forks at the site of an overturned beet truck this morning (John Stennes, Herald photographer)
Law enforcement and rescue personal

“He’s doing fine,” said State Patrol Sgt. Dean Smith.

Smith did not know the passenger’s condition and he declined to name the two men.

Smith said his department was investigating the crash, but a preliminary inspection of the scene revealed the cause was likely “a combination of driver error and speed.”

“It came into a corner a little too fast,” he said.

Smith said a witness told authorities the northbound truck was traveling “fast” as it came into a turn where Highway 200 veers east at an intersection with Polk County Road 238.

Apparently October 2 is the first day of the beet harvest and this was the first overturned truck of the season. Unfortunately it wasn’t the last and there were a few fatalities during this year’s beet harvest.

I must say I didn’t know the beet harvest was so dangerous.

 

WDAY News 6

On April 6, 2009, in Benalla, Australia, a truck overturned and spilled its load of liquid glucose. About two-thirds of the entire load of glucose spilled on the road.

The driver suffered a broken shoulder.

Absorbent material was laid over the spill and the road was pressure washed to remove any remaining glucose.

The Border Mail

On May 16, 2009 in Sacramento, CA, a truck carrying individual serving Smuckers Jelly packets overturned spilling it’s load of sticky goodness all over the highway.

The accident began with a minor accident involving several cars. Just after the occupants of the cars got out, a tractor-trailer, struck one of the cars and overturned. The truck driver suffered two broken legs, but there were no other major injuries.

 

Sacremento Press

On April 2, 2009, about 2,000 pounds of raw sausage spilled onto a busy road in Savannah Georgia. Just before 11:00 a.m. a truck carrying an open load of sausage was cut-off by a car, causing the driver to slam on his brakes, shifting his load and causing the spill.

Unfortunately, it was rainy at the time and the rain mixed with the sausage caused a thick, mushy mess. City crews tried sweeping up the sausage, then tried using street sweepers, but neither worked. Eventually, they used a mobile jet vac to suck it up. It took about 4 hours to clear the messy street.

The truck belonged to Griffin Industries which collects expired sausage from restaurants and stores. They also collect waste by-products from slaughterhouses, butchers, hotels, restaurants, etc. The waste products are recycled into rendered fats and proteins, pet food, and fertilizer. The fatty acids obtained from our meaty leftovers find their way into soaps, gelatins, cosmetics, paints, and many other products.

Incidentally, I was wondering what a mobile jet vac was, so I looked around and found that it is a truck with a giant jet vacuum designed for cleaning out sewers.

WTOC and WAFB