Update: The road was reopened at about 12:15 p.m. Friday on South U.S. 63. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said the cause of the accident was distracted driving. The driver didn’t require medical treatment.
A tractor-trailer accident sent first responders to U.S. 63 south of Houston on Friday morning.
At 6:30 a.m., the rig was reported on its top and food contents scattered from a box trailer near Hog Creek Road.
Fuel was reported gushing out of the vehicle that is near a cellular telephone tower. That has since been plugged. That was quickly tackled by the Houston Rural Fire Department, which was on the scene for several hours.
Above: Traffic conditions around 10:30 a.m. on Friday. Below: Scenes from the accident.
Numerous emergency units were on the scene. The southbound lane was closed, and work resulted to change the traffic configuration to keep a south and north lane open. The Missouri Department of Transportation was called to put cones and sawdust on the highway as traffic was managed.
The Texas County Health Department was notified due to the loss of refrigerated food products totaling 25,000 pounds. It was scattered after the box trailer was torn.