Traffic nightmare unfolded on I-4 after tractor-trailer crashed
A crash on I-4 near Ivanhoe Blvd. shut down east bound lanes on Thursday morning. The crash happening around 2:30 a.m. when a car struck a tractor-trailer carrying gasoline. Both drivers were ok. (Video by FOX35)
By Tiffany Walden Staff Writer
Orange County
OPD: Crash caused tractor-trailer to overturn on I-4; driver suffered minor injuries
There seemed to be no escape from Thursday's traffic jam in metro Orlando.
Some eastbound lanes of Interstate 4 were shut down for more than eight hours at Ivanhoe Boulevard after a tractor-trailer overturned and rolled over the guardrail Thursday morning, creating a traffic nightmare for drivers in Orlando.
Commuters who tried to escape the I-4 mess by using other roads near the highway complained of traffic standstills.
A tanker turned over on I-4 blocking east bound traffic early Thursday morning.
That translated into slowdowns on major thoroughfares like State Road 408 and side roads anywhere near I-4 and S.R. 408 in the downtown area, including ones through neighborhoods.
"I got off [the 408] at Mills Avenue to make my way back [to I-4] and every single side artery was backed up forever," said driver Lee Goldberg, a realtor at the Winter Garden-based GCI Guys. "I just find it without fathom that they wouldn't have people there manually operating the lights. It's actually embarrassing."
Another commuter, Madison Keizer, snapped a photo of the eastbound gridlock on I-4 as she drove west on the highway.
"I was just glad to not be in it," Keizer said. "I have been on I-4 when accidents have tripled my normal half-hour commute. I-4 is the only interstate I have experienced with such a high volume of traffic-causing accidents."
According to Orlando police, the tractor-trailer overturned on I-4 east at 2:30 a.m. The crash involved another vehicle, which was found several miles away on I-4.
When officers arrived, they found that the tractor-trailer had overturned and rolled over the guardrail onto its driver's side in the grass.
"The driver of the tractor trailer was able to free himself from the vehicle," police Lt. Miguel Garcia said.
Caption Fatal Accident
Red Huber / Orlando Sentinel
Orlando police investigate an accident scene saying one vehicle ran another off Interstate 4, causing a crash that killed one person and shut down eastbound lanes of the highway at Orange Blossom Trail, according to preliminary reports. "This crash allegedly occurred as the vehicle that crashed was possibly run off the road by an unknown gold colored car that left the scene,'' Orlando Police Sgt. Jim Young said in an email. "There may be damage on that car.".The Florida Highway Patrol said the crash happened at 6:34 a.m. Two eastbound lanes of I-4 eastbound reopened after 8 a.m. (Red Huber/Staff Photographer)
Caption I-4 crash
RED HUBER, ORLANDO SENTINEL
A plume of smoke (lower right) billows from the accident accident scene Wednesday, January 9, 2008, at a 70-car pileup with 5 fatalities, that were blocking at least 14 miles of Interstate 4 in Polk County. Deputies with the Polk County Sheriff's Office closed I-4 between State Road 570 and U.S. Highway 27 near Haines City for 36 hours to clear up the mess.
The driver was hospitalized with minor injuries. Hazmat crews rushed to the scene to remove the gasoline from the trailer portion of the rig about 7:15 a.m.
The fuel from the overturned tanker was siphoned out and placed into another tanker, Garcia said.
Goldberg, the realtor, left his Winter Garden home about 7:15 a.m. He said his daughter — who attends Lake Highland Preparatory School just east of I-4 near East Colonial Drive — was almost late to her second day of school because of the traffic.
He then searched for traffic-free side streets to get him back to I-4 at Princeton Street so he could attend the Maitland funeral of Central Florida radio host Scott McKenzie.
"It took me over an hour and a half to get from my house to Maitland, which normally takes 35 to 40 minutes" Goldberg said.
"My question for leadership is: how is this city never prepared for traffic?"
I avoid I-4 like the plague. It has always been a bottleneck and was poorly thought out from the get go. A highway should be straight as possible and not have curves in the road like I-4 does. It's always an accident waiting to happen and sure enough it does.