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Soft Drink Truck Crashes, Closes Interstate for Hours

By Andy Behlen

Bottles Were Boiling and Popping in the Fire of Wreckage

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Left, Schulenburg firefighters work to extinguish a burning 18-wheeler on Interstate 10 Sunday. Right, damage to the guardrail shows where the 18-wheeler crossed the Interstate, just barely avoiding a plunge down into Middle Creek. Amazingly, it traveled all the way down the bridge in the way of oncoming traffic without hitting any other vehicles. The rig eventually crashed in the ditch and caught fire. The driver was able to escape without injury. Photos courtesy of Schulenburg VFD

An 18-wheeler wreck on Interstate 10 shut down westbound traffic for several hours on Sunday, Nov. 24.

The crash happened around 3:25 p.m. Schulenburg Fire Chief Darren Guentert said an 18-wheeler heading east went through the median and across the westbound lanes before crashing in a ditch near the Middle Creek Bridge, located between Schulenburg and Weimar.

“It went across the Interstate, hit the bridge, and somehow didn’t hit anybody,” Guentert said. “Don’t ask me how that happened.”

The 18-wheeler caught on fire upon crashing, but the driver was able to escape without injury, Guentert said.

Guentert said another vehicle was struck by some of the flying debris. No one was injured, but the vehicle had to be towed from the scene. Schulenburg Volunteer Fire Department responded with six trucks and 19 firefighters. By that time, the burning wreckage started a grass fire.

“We had grass underneath the bridge burning, and grass on the north side of the truck burning,” Guentert said. “But we were able to get it all put out.”

Guentert said the truck was loaded with bottled soft drinks.

“They were getting hot and popping on us,” he said.

Both westbound lanes were shut down for about two hours. Authorities opened traffic to one lane around 5:30 p.m. Schulenburg firefighters returned to the station shortly before 7 p.m. But other emergency workers remained on scene for several hours clearing the wreckage. Texas Department of Transportation took over traffic control and remained on scene until late in the evening.

The traffic jam spread to U.S. Highway 90 as motorists exited the Interstate to avoid the scene. Some motorists reported that it took over two hours to drive between Schulenburg and Weimar.

Guentert wished to thank the Texas Department of Public Safety, Fayette County EMS, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, Schulenburg Police Department and Texas Department of Transportation, who all assisted at the scene.

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