Tractor-trailer fire closes eastbound BG Parkway for 5-1/2 hours

STAFF REPORT

A truck owned by Westside Heavy Hauling of Owensboro burns in the eastbound lanes of the Bluegrass Parkway near the 12 mile marker about 8 a.m. Saturday. The fire and clean-up shut down the parkway’s eastbound lanes for about 5-1/2 hours. Click photo to enlarge. (Photo by Gayle Avis-Case)

Saturday, June 16, 2012, 1:35 p.m. — The Blue Grass Parkway was closed for 5-1/2 hours Saturday morning after an injury accident involving a tractor-trailer rig that caught fire and burned.

The Boston Fire Department was called out at 7:48 Saturday morning for what was reported as a non-injury accident in the eastbound lanes of the BG Parkway near the 12 mile marker. A deputy sheriff who was first on the scene reported the rig was completely engulfed in flames and he was shutting down the eastbound lanes. The Bardstown Fire Department was called for mutual aid.

Traffic was detoured around the accident via US62 and directed to Bardstown and back on the parkway there. Kentucky State Police responded to assist with traffic control, and the state highway department was called to help clean up debris left on the roadway. A deputy reported approximately four inches of debris covering the roadway that needed to be cleared before the parkway could be reopened.

About an hour after first responders arrived at the accident, the driver of the tractor-trailer requested an ambulance, reporting that he was feeling pain in his arms and legs. The driver was transported to Hardin Memorial Hospital by a Nelson County EMS ambulance.

The tractor-trailer was owned by Westside Heavy Hauling, of Owensboro. The roadway was back open by 1:30 Saturday afternoon.

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