| 114th Year, 31st Issue | Thursday, March 13, 2003 | Sparta, North Carolina |
Truck Wreck — This 1998 Peterbilt sustained $75,000 in damage when it
overturned on U.S. 21 South about 11 miles from Sparta. The truck was
carrying a load of tobacco products from Sparta Industries/Lane Limited
at the time. A spokesperson for the company said the majority of the
cargo was recovered. The driver was not injured.
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A Georgia trucker escaped injury when a tractor-trailer hauling tobacco products from Sparta Industries overturned on U.S. 21 South, according to a report filed by Trooper S.L. Roten.
Chester Dale Switzer, 47, of Bogart, Ga. was listed as the driver of the 1998 Peterbilt truck that overturned last Thursday morning at 8:35 a.m. The majority of the truck's cargo was recovered, according to a Sparta Industries spokesperson.
The mountain was temporarily blocked that morning, but was reopened within an hour to traffic, Roten said.
The reason for stopping traffic was to allow the truck to be recovered (turned upright and removed from the scene), he said.
The accident scene was cleared before lunch Thursday, Roten commented. Foggy conditions persisted throughout the morning on the mountain, and were considered a factor in the accident, according to the report. The accident occurred about half a mile from Oklahoma Road.
The truck was headed south about 11 miles from Sparta (near the top of the mountain) when it ran off the side of the road.
The truck entered a curve too fast for that type of vehicle, the report said.
The truck then overturned and went off onto the right shoulder, striking an embankment and a guardrail before coming to rest on its right side.
The truck, which was registered to Roadmaster Transportation Inc. of Stone Mountain, Ga., sustained an estimated $75,000 in damages, the report stated. Meanwhile, damage to the guardrail, listed as the property of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, was estimated at $3,500.
Switzer was charged with exceeding a safe speed.
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