Tractor-trailer driver misjudges clearance

HUNTINGTON -- A driver's "serious misjudgment" resulted in a tractor-trailer getting stuck in the 8th Street underpass between 7th and 8th avenues on Tuesday, police said.

The accident occurred at 2 p.m. and both lanes of traffic were shut down for a few hours. The trailer sustained major damage, dumping some of its cargo -- cases of beer -- into the underpass. No one was injured.

J.A. Weber with the Huntington Police Department said signs leading up to the underpass indicate the clearance is 13 feet, 2-inches. Weber said the trailer was about a foot taller than that. The tractor-trailer belongs to Arnold Transportation Services of Camp Hill, Pa.

The tractor-trailer cleared most of the underpass until it began traveling up the 8th Street incline toward downtown. As the truck started its ascent, the trailer hit a center bar, snapped the trailer in half and became stuck. Cogan's Wrecker Service Inc. of Huntington arrived at 3 p.m. to extract the vehicle.

Weber said a representative from CSX was contacted to inspect the train bridge to ensure that no structural damage to the train lines occurred. A representative from Budweiser also was contacted to pick up the merchandise in the back of the tractor-trailer.

Weber said he is unsure whether the driver will be charged with anything. If he is charged, Weber said, it would be a misdemeanor driving charge.