News

Overturned tractor-trailer blocks Greenville Highway

A tractor trailer flipped on Greenville Highway, blocking the road for most of the day on Friday.

By Bill Moss, Published: June 12, 2015

FLAT ROCK — A tractor-trailer veered off Greenville Highway into a ditch, clipped a power pole and flipped on its side at 9:10 a.m. today, completely blocking the road for hours.

The two-lane highway was still blocked at noon today and expected to remain blocked in front of St. John in the Wilderness church just north of Rutledge Drive for several hours. Motorists can avoid the blockage by using Rutledge, Spartanburg Highway, Highland Lake Road or Blue Ridge Road.

"He ran off the right side of the road and hit the culvert and turned over," State Highway Patrol Trooper Gene Burleson. Burleson said he could not yet release the name of the driver, who was not hurt. The semi operator had only been driving since 6:30 this morning and the trooper said he did not yet know whether he was using a cell phone. "I don't really know why he ran off the road," he said.

The southbound semi was pulling a Sysco refrigerated trailer of frozen food heading to summer camps in the Flat Rock, Tuxedo and Green River areas heavily populated with camps. "That's why he was going this way," Burleson said.

A Duke Energy lineman was on the scene waiting on a crew to replace the power pole. Although the cab completely snapped the pole in two, power was not out. The pole could be replaced without cutting power, the utility worker said. Burleson said a Lance truck was on the way to offload the frozen food. Then a wrecker will pull the damaged trailer upright and hauled it off. It could be several hours before the road is cleared, the trooper and lineman said around noon.