SOUTH NEW BERLIN – Dozens of fire and rescue crew members worked in the dark late Thursday night as remnants of yet another tractor trailer lay waste along the eastern side of New York State Highway 8, approximately two and a half miles south of the Hamlet of South New Berlin.
At approximately 6 p.m., members of the South New Berlin and Mount Upton volunteer fire departments were dispatched to 2749 state Route 8 in the Town of New Berlin. South New Berlin and Mount Upton Fire Police, along with crews from the New York State Department of Transportation, closed County Road 15 in addition to a portion of state Route 8 between County Roads 15 and 34 in the Town of New Berlin.
Traffic remained halted for several hours as crews arrived to the scene of a tractor trailer accident which resulted in the transport of the operator to UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital with minor injuries.
A black semi operated by Joshua Schaller of Edwardsville, PA was traveling northbound on state Route 8 when one of the vehicle’s wheels left the narrow shoulder pavement onto the soft snow covered soil.
Tire tracks that sank into the sandy earth just off the shoulder of the highway indicate that the vehicle traveled nearly 200 yards from the point of lost traction to where it eventually came to rest on its right side.
As the vehicle twisted onto its side, its payload of assorted canned goods and pallets of groceries – en route to a Dollar General store in Rome – breeched the thin aluminum roof of the trailer. The force of the impact sent hundreds of canned goods aloft, dotting the snow-covered cornfield.
“The driver had indicated that a car traveling southbound had ran him off the road; but at this time, there doesn’t seem to be any evidence that would suggest that,” said South New Berlin Volunteer Fire Chief Kevin Christian. “He was most likely unfamiliar with the road and could not negotiate the corner.”
“The only thing we can really blame it on at this point is the windiness of the road,” said Christian. “We’ve been dealing with it for years on this corner and the few corners north of this one along Route 8.” Christian noted that by his estimation, this incident marks the 34th accident along the notorious meanderings of Route 8 and state Route 23 in his district.
This accident is far from an unusual circumstance as several incidents of semi rollovers at this location have been reported on by The Evening Sun in the past. “Something needs to be done,” said Christian. “The condition of the road was not a factor. I would suggest that at very least, the Department of Transportation place more signage near these dangerous corners. It's only common sense that with the increased demand for truck traffic along the Route 8 corridor, so will the number of motor vehicle accidents.”
“Usually the cleanup time for an accident like this is between five and six hours; this one will be hours longer due to the fact that it wasn’t on its way to Chobani. Those trucks typically haul 17 totes of fruit. Tonight, we have thousands of pieces to pick up out of the snow,” said Christian.
Members from the Mount Upton Volunteer Fire Department assisted in the clean up and recovery efforts, which had crews working in sub-freezing temperatures throughout the night. Because of a new county-wide mutual aid agreement, South New Berlin was directed by fire control to send two of its crew and a tanker to the scene of a working structure fire in the Town of Mount Upton, which occurred all but simultaneously. “Luckily, they knocked that fire down and are back on the scene here with us now,” noted Christian.
John’s Garage of Bainbridge was summoned to remove the damaged vehicle from the scene and Lang Trucking was called to assist rescue crews by supplying dumpster containers for the displaced contents of the truck.
“It’s unfortunate that the owner(s) of the company cannot be reached at this time as all of this food is non-perishable and could be donated. There are food pantries and food drives going on all over the area that could greatly benefit from the influx of inventory that this could provide. It’s a real shame that it will all be thrown away,” said Christian.
The accident was also reported to the Department of Environmental Conservation as is mandatory in cases where excess amounts of diesel fuel are spilled. Christian indicated that the trucks fuel tanks had recently been filled and that nearly 120 gallons of fuel may have leaked from the wreckage.
According to a press release issued by the Chenango County Sheriff’s Department, an investigation regarding the cause of the accident is ongoing.