LENOX TOWNSHIP -- A tractor-trailer spilled thousands of pounds of cabbage and tomatoes on an interstate in Susquehanna County.
42,000 pounds of cabbage and tomatoes ended up along the pavement and medium on Interstate 81 southbound near the Lenox Township exit.
State police said Michael Clark , 54, of New York was driving the rig when he lost control and skidded along a guide rail before it flipped and spilled its cargo.
A huge mess confronted police and a cleanup crew early Tuesday morning along Interstate 81 near the Lenox exit.
According to state police, a man from the Rochester, New York area lost control of his tractor trailer. It hit the guide rail along the passing lane, and then flipped.
The cargo was 42,000 pounds of cabbage and tomatoes, spilled over the road and the median.
"Sometimes you get to play with the good stuff. Sometimes you get to play with the garbage. I guess we're doing the garbage today," said Eddie Kozlowski
Kozloski's towing company of Clifford was called in to get the truck out, and clean up the tons of spilled cabbage and tomatoes. It was no easy task.
This was a massive cleanup. Not only in terms of tons of cabbage and tomatoes, but also in terms of distance. There is a half mile trail of smashed guide rail, debris in the road, and all that cabbage and tomatoes.
A team of cleanup workers with front-end loaders was brought in to do the job. They scooped up produce from the pavement, picked it from the grassy median, and pulled it from the mangled trailer.
And if you're wondering what you can do with this expensive and formerly tasty load, the answer is nothing.
"It's all garbage, just cleaning the garbage. Nothing is useable," Kozlowski said.
And while the scooping and shoveling was taking place, cars and trucks were detoured off Interstate 81 at the Lenox exit, getting back on at an entrance ramp, just a couple of miles away.
After all that work Interstate 81 south at Lenox was reopened around 8:15 a.m. Tuesday.
The truck was owned by Barney Transportation from Brockport, New York. The cabbage and tomatoes were headed for a distribution center on Long Island.
The truck driver suffered an elbow injury and cuts to his face. He is being cited for speeding.
