BEAR CREEK TOWNSHIP -- A truck flipped over on a runaway ramp in Luzerne County Tuesday afternoon and officials say the truck should not have been on that road.
Tractor-trailers over the weight limit are not allowed on one section of Route 115 in Luzerne County, but Tuesday afternoon, one truck driver went out of control.
No one was injured in the crash, but the truck should not have even been on the road. The incident comes just as officials plan to discuss opening part of Route 115 back to four travel lanes.
The truck was traveling down Route 115 towards Wilkes-Barre around noon when the brakes didn't work. The driver took the runaway truck ramp, causing it to flip over.
"Every time we come down, you see them come down and you're like, 'Oh, my God, they're going to cause an accident,' and today was the first time I've seen one go up the hill and flip over its side," said Darlene McFadden.
Authorities point out the truck should not have been on the road. Not only was it over the weight limit to travel down Route 115, but the truck was inspected less than an hour earlier in Kidder Township and declared out of service. That means the rig should have been parked.
"Thank God that they went up the ramp and not lose their brakes and not come down and lose their brakes by the light here and kill people by the light," said McFadden.
Route 115 in Bear Creek Township has seen plenty of deadly crashes before officials decided to close a passing lane in each direction in 2010. Many here still remember the tragic losses.
Leaders from PennDOT are set to meet with officials from Bear Creek Township Wednesday to talk about making Route 115 four lanes again, but people in the community have mixed feelings.
"I think it'd be the best thing going, I really do," said Steve Capie of Nanticoke. "You get behind some slow people."
"Keep it to one lane right now, for the time being," said George Zapata of Berwick.
The meeting in Bear Creek is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday. Officials with PennDOT say it's to remind them about why keeping Route 115 the way it is may be the best option.
