Truck drops metal on Alabama highway, flattens tires of more than 50 vehicles
Published 10:53 am Friday, October 30, 2020
A truck hauling scrap metal dropped multiple shards along a north Alabama highway, flattening the tires of more than 50 vehicles.
Emergency management officials began getting calls early Thursday about multiple vehicles with flat tires on U.S. 72, and reports began coming in later about the same problem in another area. Soon, dozens of vehicles were stopped on roadways with flat tires, news outlets reported.
Authorities determined a truck had dropped pieces of metal ranging from an inch to a foot in length, flattening all four tires on some cars and trucks. Highway crews from Colbert, Lawrence and Morgan counties brought out sweepers, and workers also picked up pieces by hand.
Greg Corble, a spokesman for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, said a state trooper in Decatur found the truck that had dropped the metal, and the owner contacted his insurance company and will reimburse motorists.
“He said they were going to make things right,” Corble told the TimesDaily. Authorities refused to release the name of the trucking company.