U.S. 50 in Brownstown has reopened this afternoon after being closed for more than four hours for the cleanup of a crash in which a semitrailer carrying 43,500 pounds of a food additive roll over on its side, police report.
The driver of the semitrailer, Brian Bloom, 43, of Jasper, was trapped in the cab and was unconscious when Brownstown Police Department Assistant Chief Joe Kelly and town and county officers arrived at the scene at Main and Commerce streets. That was at 9:41 a.m. Tuesday.
Kelly said he, Jackson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Dustin Steward and county Officer Jesse Hutchinson kicked the windshield out of the cab and pulled Bloom from it. Medical personnel with Jackson County Emergency Medical Services then treated and transported Bloom to the hospital for treatment of his injuries, which didn’t appear to be life-threatening, Kelly said.
He said Bloom was hauling the load east on Commerce Street, or U.S. 50, and turning north on Main Street, also U.S. 50, when the load of multidextrin powder shifted, causing the trailer to roll onto its side. Bloom was hauling the load for Buchta Trucking Co.
The powder had to be offloaded from the trailer, stacked on pallets and loaded onto another trailer before 31 Wrecker could upright Bloom’s semitrailer, Kelly said. That work was completed at about 2 p.m., and the road was reopened.
Indiana State Police motor carrier inspectors were called to the scene to inspect the truck, Kelly said. Bloom was not cited.
Brownstown Police Chief Tom Hanner and Officer Scott Arnold also assisted at the scene.