Truck carrying hazardous cargo has mishap
ByLISA CARNLEY Stafff Writer

PHOTO BY LISA CARNLEY A tractor-trailer carrying hazardous cargo had its roof peeled back when it scraped an overhanging portion of a tree trunk behind Rollins Brook Community Hospital. The shifting cargo caused the truck to split almost in half.

A tractor-trailer carrying hazardous material likely would have traveled through the city unnoticed Friday morning if it hadn't tried to make its way through a side street that is impassable for vehicles that size.

Lampasas Fire Chief Terry Lindsey said the driver, hauling ammonia nitrate, blasting caps and detonators, had just fueled up at a local gas station about 6:45 a.m.

The driver, from Georgetown, was headed to Glen Rose, proceeded west on Avenue E and then traveled behind Rollins Brook Community Hospital, where he planned to turn his truck around and head back toward Key Avenue.

The turnaround was not large enough to accommodate the vehicle, Lindsey said. The trailer's wheels jumped the curb as it turned the corner, and the top of the tractor got caught on a large chunk of tree, peeling it back like a can opener.

The cargo then shifted causing the trailer to buckle, nearly splitting it in half, and the weight in the middle caused the back wheels to lift off the ground.

The fire chief said the hazardous material being hauled was the same cargo used in the April 1995 blast that killed 168 people and injured 800 at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

The truck in Friday morning's incident, though, held a larger quantity of the materials.

Lindsey said situations such as this are determined hazardous until it is discovered there is no spillage and no fire associated with the accident.

A large wrecker from Georgetown was called to the scene to remove the vehicle, and a second trailer was brought in to transfer its contents.

Fire Department personnel remained on the scene until after 11:30 a.m. without further incident.

The driver was unhurt in the accident.

Assistance also came from the Lampasas Police Department.