A truck traveling on Louisiana Interstate 10 in Metairie spilled tens of thousands of nails on a busy highway on Tuesday afternoon.
The truck was hauling a flatbed trailer loaded with construction and building materials. The nails were in buckets that fell off of the trailer, according to the Louisiana State Police.
According to Fox 8 Live, the truck driver, Darick Johnson, admitted to losing the nails and was cited for driving with an unsecured load.
If you got “nailed” yesterday on the highway from that unsecured load of nails, check it;”: pic.twitter.com/b9CC1xyG7s
— Daniel Ring (@ringdistricta) September 27, 2017
“They failed to secure their load. He is going to be responsible, personally, but also whatever the company he was working for is going to be responsible,” said personal injury attorney Greg DiLeo.
2 buckets of 10k nails EACH on I-10 E from near Bonnabel exit (WB) to at least Canal (EB). @La_DOTD on scene cleaning up. Use caution @WWLTV pic.twitter.com/uBgCQPLAY6
— Clayton Rougelot (@Claytonrougewwl) September 26, 2017
DOTD crews spent hours on Tuesday using magnets, brooms, and their hands to clean up the nail spill. Crews returned to continue the work on Wednesday.
Three lanes of traffic were closed leading into New Orleans after the nails spilled. The left 3 lanes (of the 6 lane highway) were covered with nails starting at Oaklawn Drive, just past the Bonnabel Boulevard exit.
Dozens of tire businesses in the area were flooded with business following the accident. Some tires had as many as 24 nails, just in one tire.
The truck is owned by a Mississippi trucking company called OCL Transportation located in Petal, Mississippi. The company now does business under the name LTS Transport.
Johnson, the driver, was cited for an unsecured load.
Louisiana State Police advise anyone affected by this nail spill to take pictures of the damage and save all receipts from repairs. They also said drivers can ask insurance companies to call state police.
To contact the trucking company, call 985-871-0006. The company is referring calls to their insurance company American Insurance Brokers.