Thanks to Henrik S. for this Truck Spill submission. Unfortunately, the story appears to be in German, which I do not read. Using Babelfish to translate the site, I believe the facts are…

In October, 2007, a truck carrying Russian rockets, or rocket containers, took a turn too sharply, causing the load to slip forward, indenting the cab, but not injuring the driver. Two of the containers then broke free, falling into the roadway. The other two shifted on the truck bed, but did not fall into the road. From the text, I believe the rockets, or rocket containers, were military surplus that was being disposed of.

KLSK

On July 26, 2007, at about 12:30 a.m., a 200-ton ship engine fell off a flatbed trailer, landing on three parked vehicles. The giant engine smashed through the road and damaged water pipes, which flooded the area.

A woman, who was sleeping in a minivan while waiting for her husband to get out of work had minor injuries. One of the other cars was completely crushed (a 200-ton engine will do that).

The diesel-electric engine was being delivered to the NASSCO Ship Yard for installation in the Amelia Earhart, a Navy transport ship.

The driver was attempting to deliver the engine, but went to the wrong gate. When he tried to back up, he hit a curb, which caused an automatic leveling system on the truck to rock the trailer back and forth, eventually tipping it over and spilling the engine on the roadway.

Workers delayed the removal of the engine for a few days while they assessed how to remove it while still salvaging as much as possible. Three cranes were eventually needed to lift the engine, which was jammed into the street. It took nine hours to move the engine onto the street, then onto a truck.

Once the engine was removed, it left a 30-foot crater in the street. workers still had to remove the vehicles, repair the broken water pipe, then fill the crater and repair the roadway.

 

NBC San Diego

A tanker truck carrying hot roofing tar overturned on March 13, 2007 in Oceanside, CA. The truck cracked open, oozing about 150 gallons of the black sticky stuff onto the street.

The tanker was owned by AAA Roofing By Gene Inc. The driver lost control of it as he made a left turn.

NCTimes.com

This wasn’t a truck spill, but I thought it was interesting enough to include.

About 8,000 liters of the concentrate used to make the soft drink Sunny D, formerly known as Sunny Delight spilled into a creek in England in May, 2006. The spill killed dozens of fish, which is a little scary. The spill was caused by a crack in an underground fiberglass tank at the Gerber Foods Soft Drink factory in Bridgwater, Somerset. The tank was used to hold sub-standard juice waiting for disposal.

 

Daily Mail

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 November 5, 2008 a truck overturned in New Orleans on I-10 spilling its load of Taaka vodka on the road. The off-ramp was shut down due to the accident and was closed for several hours.

Taaka vodka is made by Sazerac, in New Orleans.

 

WDSU

A truck which was hauling a 109,000 pound transformer to Dallas, overturned on January 25, 2008, dumping the million-dollar piece of equipment on the side of the road.

The truck was traveling westbound on I-20 when the driver attempted to make a turn and his right rear tires went off the road, overturning the truck and spilling the transformer.

A crane needed to be brought in to lift the transformer. The driver was not injured.

 

Tyler Morning Telegraph

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