WMBFNews.com | Myrtle Beach/Florence, SC | News, Weather, SportsTractor trailer wrecks, dangles off I-77
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Photo courtesy: Beverly RodgersDAVIDSON, NC (WBTV) - I-77 is back open in both directions near the Iredell-Mecklenburg line after a massive wreck left one tractor trailer hanging off a bridge within feet of going into Lake Norman.
The incident happened in very icy lanes of I-77 Southbound when a U.S. Mail truck skidded and apparently lost control.
Witnesses say the driver came perilously close to plunging into Lake Norman, but was able to make it out of the cab shortly after the accident. We're told his injuries were not serious.
The incident happened at Mile Marker 30 around 1 pm on Saturday.
While the wreckage was in place, a second mail truck – another tractor trailer – was involved in a wreck behind the first one.
The driver tells WBTV he had to swerve to avoid the first tractor trailer and wound up in a ditch. He says if he hadn't swerved, he would have knocked the first truck into Lake Norman.
One or both of the vehicles involved was leaking fuel into Lake Norman, officials said.
Our crew on the scene could see fuel in the lake and smell it near the accident.
Even though much of I-77 moved well Saturday afternoon, the southbound lanes on the bridge at the county line had frozen over.
"As you can see, it's a solid sheet of ice out here," said truck driver Lenney Moore, who was only a little behind the accident when it happened.
"For him to go into a slide like that, he was going probably a little bit too fast for conditions," Moore added.
When the accident happened, employees working at the nearby North Harbor Club in Davidson rushed to try to help the driver.
"About seven people ran out, ran over to check and make sure the driver was okay," said employee Jennifer Reed. "We all thought [the truck] was going to go in eventually."
She say fortunately the man was okay, and the truck did not go in the lake.
77 Southbound was shut down for several hours. Traffic in Iredell County was diverted to exit 31, took 115 south into Davidson, then got back to I-77 using Griffith Street.
A number of vehicles closer to where the wreck happened had to sit and wait well over two hours until authorities towed the trucks away and cleared a lane.
