A truck driver is accused of ignoring signage and driving onto a Tennessee interstate where commercial vehicle travel has been restricted for months due to Hurricane Helene.
Truck driver Ankit Ahammitt, 23, was arrested on January 17 and charged with driving on a closed roadway, according to a warrant affidavit obtained by Newport Plain Talk.
For months, I-40 in Cocke County, Tennessee has been closed to commercial traffic due to damage caused by Hurricane Helene in late September 2024.
According to the report, Ahammitt allegedly ignored signs warning that the roadway is closed to commercial traffic, driving past the final truck exit at mile marker 440, traveling to mile marker 451, and then turning around to travel east on I-40.
The affidavit said that Ahammitt took Exit 447 and made a u-turn, then took Exit 451 and moved the road barricades. He then reportedly became stuck between those barricades while trying to drive his CMV through, blocking the path of road workers.
A Tennessee Highway Patrol was stationed at mile marker 541 at the time the incident occurred.
When police made contact with Ahammitt, he is said to have mentioned his GPS several times.
Ahammitt was arrested without incident and booked into the Cocke County Jail. A co-driver took over operating the truck after Ahammitt’s arrest, the report stated.