7-26-05 - An 18-wheeler traveling on Hwy 69 in Whitewright hit an embankment and caught fire. The two men inside made it out alive.

Around 4:15 this morning witnesses say they saw a southbound semi truck carrying peat moss begin to swerve near the Spruce Road overpass. The truck hit a concrete embankment then rolled over, bursting into flames and spilling cargo all over the road.

“We could see flames, all the way to the power lines. It didn’t look to pretty,” says Martha Blakey, who works at a truck stop just south of the scene.

The two men inside the truck, the driver and a sleeping passenger, made it out. First responders from Whitewright transported the injured men to Wilson N. Jones Medical Center, but expect them to recover.

However, the accident could mean traffic problems for travelers through Whitewright. The Police Chief says the intersection at Spruce Road and Hwy 69 will be closed for hours, possibly until noon. People traveling through Whitewright will have to detour around the intersection of Hwy 69 and Spruce Road. Police are asking those heading southbound on Hwy 69 to turn off at Locus Street, and northbound drivers to take Carter Street to get around the scene.