February 26, 2012
A tractor trailer crash Sunday morning caused both lanes of Route 29 South, near North Garden, to close for several hours.
A tractor trailer ran off of the road in the 4000 block of Monacan Trail around 10 a.m., hit a power line, and rolled over into a front yard.
"We heard a boom and thought it was an earthquake," said John Painter, who was eating with his wife when he heard the crash. "My wife looked out the window and she saw a truck sliding down the road."
The driver of the tractor trailer was taken to the University of Virginia Medical Center as a precaution, and was treated and released. Albemarle County Police say he has been charged with reckless driving.
The tractor trailer was flipped upright and the scene was cleared by 1 p.m. Sunday. The road remained closed, however, while power crews repaired the line that had been knocked down. The road did not reopen until 6 p.m.
"There are limited number of crossovers and the amount of traffic that comes through on a Sunday - this is one of the major thoroughfares," said Steven Wilkins of the Albemarle County Police Department.
The Virginia Department of Transportation rerouted traffic onto Route 29 North.
"It is a safety concern because we have to make sure we have everything in place. Northbound traffic needs to know what is going on," said Chip Riley, of the Albemarle County Police Department.
While teamwork helped to speed the process along, Painter says one problem remains, even after the debris is cleared. "They go too fast," he said, adding cars and trucks frequently race down the stretch of 29 in front of his home.
While Sunday's wreck did not cause any injuries, Painter fears another one could.
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