Causeway accident ties up traffic

By Debbie Glover
St. Tammany News
Published on Monday, June 29, 2009 8:23 AM CDT

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Northbound commuters on the Causeway had a two and a half hour delay Friday morning when a 2001 Peterbilt dump truck driven by 50-year old Edward Miller had a blow out of his left front tire that flipped the truck onto its left side.

Causeway Police Chief Nick Congemi said no one was injured in the accident that occurred at mile marker 20.4. The accident occurred at 6:03 a.m.

Miller was in the right lane when the blowout occurred, sending him to the left lane where he struck the left rail. The vehicle then rode the rail for about 425 feet before Miller overcompensated and the truck flipped on its side.

In clearing the site, a large wrecker was brought in to right the vehicle. The EPA was then notified because of the transmission and other fluids leaking onto the bridge. Sand carried by the truck was used to absorb the fluid spilled in the accident. The spill was evaluated by U.S. Environmental Services to determine any damage.

Congemi said that routine protocol involves an inspection of the bridge by engineers after such an accident to ascertain structural soundness and safety. When the inspections and clean up were completed, the northbound lane was re-opened, about 8:28 a.m.

Miller was cited for careless operation of a vehicle.

Congemi said the teamwork of the Causeway maintenance crew, police and other agencies sped up the process allowing the northbound lanes to re-open.

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