Overturned 18-wheeler ties up freeway traffic for hours
By BARRY HALVORSON bhalvorson@journal-spectator.com

Staff Photo by Barry Halvorson Beverages, frozen food and other items are unloaded from the back of a truck that overturned on U.S. 59.

An overturned 18-wheeler hauling grocery items closed down the northbound lanes of U.S. 59 for around two hours Tuesday morning.

The one-vehicle wreck happened just a couple hundred yards short of the FM 961 exit and was reported to the Wharton Police Department around 5 a.m., according to a police department preliminary report.

The driver of the truck was identified as Jose Benavides Jr., 54, of Houston.

The initial report made no mention of any injuries or any other vehicles being involved, noted Wharton Police Chief Tim Guin.

The chief added not all of the details were immediately available and the wreck is still under investigation.

The Texas Department of Transportation detoured traffic off the highway starting at around 7:30 a.m. and continued until around 9:30 a.m. before reopening the inside lane to through traffic.

Traffic was restricted to the single lane so a second truck could be driven to the scene and backed up to the original truck to allow a work crew to move the goods from one trailer to the other.

The detour exited the highway at FM 960, continued to FM 961 and then returned to the highway just beyond the wreck, TxDOT Maintenance Supervisor Richard Zahn said.

"We are only allowed to detour traffic onto roads maintained by TxDOT," he said in explaining the route selected.

Both lanes were opened to traffic around 3 p.m. Tuesday.