A Petersburg borough sanding truck slid into another vehicle on an icy hill and then rolled into the muskeg on December 1. The truck was going up a hill to the local dump at around 4:30 p.m. Dave Berg is a spokesperson for the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department. He said the sand that the truck had just put down was no match for the steep, slick road.
“He was heading up the hill,” he said. “There was another vehicle following him, and the sander stopped, [it] basically was not getting any traction. It couldn’t go any further, and the vehicle behind him stopped. The sander started to slip backwards on the hill and actually collided with the truck that was following him.”
The sander pushed the truck downhill. Berg said the driver in the truck opened his door, intending to jump out, but changed his mind when his vehicle started to spin. The sander also started to spin, and then slid off the road, and slowly rolled over into the roadside snowbank. Berg said the driver was able to climb out of the overturned sander.
The truck stayed on the road, but the open door caught against a snowbank, which bent it back against the front of the vehicle. The driver in the truck was able to climb out, but said he was in pain.
Berg said more than a dozen emergency responders were on the scene within about 10 minutes. They brought a gurney for the truck driver, but Berg said icy conditions forced them to stop about 100 yards down the hill from the vehicles. Responders hiked up the hill in headlamps and snow cleats, pulling the gurney with them over the ice. Berg said they brought both drivers down the hill and transported them to Petersburg Medical Center. They were released the same evening.
Chris Cotta is the director of Public Works in Petersburg. He said the overturned sander was barely damaged. He said the cushion of the snowbank likely protected it. Public Works retrieved the vehicle the next day, and it was back in circulation a day later. Cotta said there was some concern about leaking fuel and antifreeze while the vehicle was upside down, but no sheens were reported. He said any leaks were minimal and flushed away by the heavy rains.
Berg said road conditions are getting better with the rain and warmer temperatures, but there are still slick spots. He said it’s important to watch out for ice in parking lots, unpaved roads, and places that weren’t plowed.
