December 10, 2023
Approximate time: 1415
Weather conditions: Rain

Contacted to respond to the ramp from Route 222 south to Route 30 west to assist Wayne’s Towing & Recovery on the scene of a commercial motor vehicle accident involving a tractor trailer that was reported to be in the ditch and possibly jack knifed. Based upon the information WTR had been given upon dispatch, they were requesting that one of our Heavy Duty Sliding Rotator Recovery Units, a tractor to repower the trailer, and one of our Incident Response Units be dispatched to the scene.

Upon arrival, we met with WTR personnel and formulated a recovery plan. Our IRU inspected the Freightliner tractor for any leaks and/or spills. It was determined that there were no spills, however the driver’s side diesel tank was close to the ground and the radiator had made a hard impact with the ditch embankment. WTR had traffic control in place, it was determined that we would be able to perform the recovery while keeping the roadway open. We would need to stop traffic long enough to connect our tractor to the trailer and to turn around WTR’s heavy wrecker when needed.

WTR’s heavy wrecker was rigged to the back of the trailer, our rotator was rigged to the front of the trailer. The truck and trailer were separated. The trailer was lifted, winched, and rotated in order to be placed back onto the should of the roadway in a manner in which our tractor could hook to it and move it from the immediate area to allow the Freightliner tractor to be recovered.

The rotator then rigged to the front of the tractor to lift the truck so that the radiator and fuel tank were not compromised while the truck was being recovered from the ditch. Once the front end was lifted. The truck was winched and rotated back onto the roadway. WTR’s heavy wrecker hooked to the back of the damaged tractor and prepared to tow it from the scene.

The IRU and personnel picked up the truck parts from the ditch. There were rocks embedded into the front frame of the truck, they were removed to prevent them from falling off while the truck was being towed. The loose truck parts were removed and/or secured. The dirt and grass that was affected by the truck running off the roadway was raked returning the scene to pre-accident conditions.

The damaged truck and trailer were transported from the accident scene to the storage facility.