ARCHDALE (AP) — Motorists on Interstate 85 in North Carolina are forced to detour, and homes and a school are evacuated after a tractor-trailer carrying explosives overturned.
The North Carolina Transportation Department says the Monday morning crash in Archdale near High Point is expected to keep I-85 closed in both directions until Monday evening.
A Randolph County Schools spokeswoman said nearby Trindale Elementary School was evacuated as a precaution just as the school day started.
Randolph County EMS says the crash happened around 7 a.m. The truck was carrying an ammonium nitrate slurry and blasting caps. Authorities say the explosives inside the truck were “stable” and all ignition sources removed.
The truck driver was taken to High Point Regional Hospital, then flown to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem.
The News & Record of Greensboro has been posting updates, and the High Point Enterprise also has a story.