St. Tammany News

It was a heck of a way to get some lumber.

Tuesday afternoon, a 2005 Volvo semi hauling a load of bicarbonate rubber ran off the eastbound lane of Interstate 12 and slid 130 feet into a stand of pine trees, knocking down at least six trees and slightly injuring the driver, according to the Louisiana State Police.

Parts of the cab of a Volvo tractor trailer lie on the ground after the truck ran off I-12 near Lacombe Tuesday afternoon, toppling trees. The driver only suffered minor injuries. (Staff Photo by Erik Sanzenbach)

Trooper Lewis Calato, Troop L spokesman, said the driver, Raymond Bedell, 59, of Decatur, Ga., was struck with a severe coughing spell near mile marker 72 on I-12 at around 2:50 p.m.

Bedell lost control of his rig and started to go off the road. He could not turn the truck back onto the road and slid 130 feet into the trees.

The cab of the semi had several trees on top of it, and pieces of the cab lay strewn in the brush. One tree that was toppled by the truck lay wedged in between one of the rear wheels and the trailer body. The roof of the trailer was ripped open in several places, but the load of bicarbonate rubber appeared to be undamaged by the accident. Bedell was taken to the Louisiana Heart Hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries and released.

Calato said Bedell was cited for reckless operation of a vehicle. Tow truck drivers scratched their heads as to how they would extricate the rig from the trees. It took five workers from Knight Towing and Recovery of Mandeville to clear the brush enough to start pulling the truck out.

Ricky Carroll of Knight Towing said his crew would have to cut down at least six trees in order to get a tow truck into place to start pulling out the rig.

But before that, the owners of the truck, Averitte Express, had to unload the cargo. Carroll said they would have to wait on the arrival of another Averitte Express truck before the wrecked one could be removed.

He said it would take about 20 hours of hard work before the truck could be removed.

"I think we will be eating breakfast right here," Carroll said.