Large crane blocks traffic Friday night

Apr. 24—A heavy-duty crane truck shut down portions of Interstate 45 Friday night, when the vehicle ended up on top of cement barricades dividing the north and south bound lanes.

According to New Waverly Fire Department District Chief Jimmy Williams, crews from New Waverly Firefighters and Walker County EMS responded to find a heavy duty crane truck on top of the K rail around 7:15 p.m. Friday night.

"The truck had been southbound just before the New Waverly exit and came to rest blocking most of the southbound side and hanging over the rail into the first northbound lane," District Chief Williams said. "At least one passenger car was also involved in the crash."

Walker County EMS crew moved the driver into their unit and began treating him for non life-threatening injuries. Firefighters checked the passenger car for other victims, and found there were no other significant injuries reported.

"The crash scattered debris along several hundred feet of the freeway and ruptured the truck's fuel tank, spilling diesel and oil over most of the southbound lanes, bringing traffic to a halt," District Chief Williams said. "Firefighters diked up the spill, leaving the shoulder open so drivers trapped on the freeway could move past the scene."

A Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Trooper coordinated the flow of traffic and clean up crews, working with County and State Emergency Management Officials to bring equipment needed to clear the freeway. A TxDOT contractor set up traffic control lanes and two heavy duty wreckers were brought in to lift the truck off the the center rail. A hazmat clean up crew responded to finish cleaning up the spilled fuel and finally, crews removed debris from the main lanes before re-opening the freeway.

Traffic remained heavy late into the night, but no other serious secondary accidents were reported, according to District Chief Williams.