Crews respond to Clayton Village truck accident

Oktibbeha County first responders had a big task on their hands Wednesday morning when an 18-wheeler ended up on its side in Clayton Village.

At 9:58 a.m., firefighters from the East

Oktibbeha Volunteer Fire Department received a call to an 18-wheeler that had tipped over on its right side after coming down the Highway 82 off ramp onto the eastbound lane of Highway 182 too quickly and lost control. The driver was transported to OCH Regional Medical Center, where he was treated for non-life threatening injures and subsequently discharged.

In addition to the East Oktibbeha firefighters, personnel from Mississippi Highway Patrol, Starkville Fire Department, Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Office and Oktibbeha County Emergency Management Agency also

responded to the incident. A Mississippi Department of Transportation crew was also on scene to clean up a diesel and motor oil spill from the truck.

The wreck slowed eastbound traffic on Highway 182 near Clayton Village, but did not appear to cause any major delays.

East Oktibbeha VFD Sgt. Tristan Jones, who served as incident commander, said the department would likely be on scene for several hours until the fuel was cleaned up and the truck was righted and moved out of the road.

“We’ve got a heavy wrecker coming out of Tupelo,” Jones said. Jones said the wreck only involved the truck, and that the driver was the only person in the vehicle at the time of the accident.

The truck’s origin and destination were not known, although both the truck and trailer were fitted with Mississippi license plates.

Although the truck and trailer both sustained heavy damage, the truck’s right turn signal continued to flash as emergency crews continued to work the scene. The truck’s cargo of insulation pellets remained inside the trailer.