by GEOFF FOX
An early morning incident on eastbound Interstate 70 woke a Hancock family on Maryland Avenue when the trailer from a tractor-trailer rolled off the interstate and landed next to their house.
According to homeowner Richard Powers, the tractor-trailer driver began losing the trailer as the driver was making the curve coming out of Pennsylvania.
The trailer skidded down I-70 about a half-mile before sliding off the interstate, through a guardrail, and into the Powers’ yard.
Richard Powers (left) talks to a neighbor as a trailer lies its side Thursday morning. A tractor-trailer lost the trailer in the early morning hours as it headed east on Interstate 70. Photo by Geoff Fox.
The trailer ended up just a couple yards from the house.
The Hancock News contacted the Maryland State Police, but were provided no details about their investigation as of Thursday afternoon.
Powers and his wife were in bed at the other end of the house when the accident happened sometime around 2:30 a.m.
He said she heard a noise, so he went to see what it was.
Photo by Geoff Fox.
I-70 runs above where the trailer landed. Photo by Geoff Fox
“Looked out front, didn’t see anything,” Powers said. “Then went back to the kitchen, looked out and saw this truck out there.”
Powers said he got “a little shook up” because he didn’t know where the cab was.
When he went outside, Powers said the driver was still on the interstate and was yelling down to see if anyone was hurt.
“I guess it just come off the fifth wheel and left the trailer on its own, no driver,” Powers said.
The trailer was filled with deli items like meats and cheeses. Powers said he was told there were 3,800 pounds of food loaded into the trailer.
Powers, along with some neighbors, were able to get some of the meats and cheeses for their own use.
Workers from D&D Trucking were unloading the trailer Thursday morning and loading boxes onto wooden pallets and onto waiting flatbed trucks.
By 10:30 a.m., a white box truck and one flatbed had been completely filled while a third had a couple of pallets on it.
Along Interstate 70, the guardrail where the trailer left the roadway had been torn apart and the hillside had been torn up.
Bits of insulation were in the Powers’ yard, as were parts of the trailer that had come loose during the accident.
Aside from damage to a fence and the yard, there was no damage to Powers’ house.
“It was close, but it didn’t get it,” he said.
The response from first responders was pretty quick.
When Powers called 911 about the accident, he first told them Interstate 70, but then looked again and gave his address as well.
Along with Maryland State Police, Hancock Volunteer Fire Company, and Hancock Rescue Squad were also on scene.
