Photo courtesy of Pearl PD
A truck driver was launched from his vehicle after a single-car crash on I-20 East on Wednesday morning.
Sergeant John Williams with Pearl PD’s Traffic Division confirmed that the driver, whose name has not been released, crashed into several trees after his driver-side front tire had a blowout near mile marker 53. After the truck went off of the road and crashed, the man was ejected from the vehicle.
The man’s condition is unknown at this time, but he was alive following the crash, and he was taken to the hospital. Williams says that being thrown from the vehicle may have saved the man’s life as the cab of the 1990 Chevrolet tanker was completely crushed.
“Being ejected from the truck was a blessing in disguise because the whole cab would’ve collapsed on him,” Sergeant Williams said.
The tanker was used as a water truck on construction sites to settle dust. A co-worker of the man involved in the crash told police that the truck was incapable of reaching speeds over 65 MPH.
After the truck hit the trees, MDOT was called to the scene to determine if the trees were a threat to fall over into the road as it had been uprooted by the crash.
The crash remains under investigation.
