GRAYRIDE, Mo. -- A wreck involving a tractor-trailer rig on U.S. 60, half a mile east of the Grayridge exit, caused the closing of the highway for four hours late Tuesday night.
According to the Highway Patrol, 37-year-old Joseph W. Odom of Lynchburg, Va., was westbound on Hwy. 60 at 9:18 p.m. in a 2000 Kenworth tractor-trailer when the truck ran off the roadway, striking a guardrail.
When the vehicle came to rest, it was blocking both westbound lanes of the highway. The impact of the accident caused a rupture in the fuel tanks of the rig, creating a significant fuel spill on the highway, the patrol stated.
SEMO Environmental was called in to clean up the fuel spill.
The patrol reported that a span of 30 feet was damaged in the wreck. Traffic resumed around 1:30 a.m.
Five patrol units responded to the wreck. The driver was wearing his seat belt when the accident occurred. He was uninjured.