Lumber truck found at bottom of hill after crash, WV cops say. Now driver is missing
Hours after a semi-truck hauling lumber was discovered on the hillside by a West Virginia road, the driver has yet to be found, deputies said.
Deputies responded to reports of a crash on a remote road in the central part of the state before 6 a.m. and found an overturned tractor-trailer, according to a March 7 news release from the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office and an interview streamed by WCHS.
“At some point during the night the truck driver, we’re assuming, had gotten lost, has lost his way, because obviously this is not a road that’s designed for a semi-truck, so either he’s gotten lost or he’s used improper GPS stuff that’s got him out here. Either way, it’s got him twisted and he’s continued on this road that is obviously not suitable for a large truck,” a sheriff’s deputy said in the interview.
The sheriff’s office said the driver was southbound when they tried to negotiate a sharp curve, and the truck went off the shoulder of the road and then tumbled down a 50-foot hillside.
“Currently, deputies and first responders have not located or identified the driver and the treacherous terrain is making rescue efforts difficult,” the sheriff’s office said.
Machinery designed to move heavy equipment was brought to the scene to try and remove the truck from the hillside, the sheriff’s office said, and agents with the Department of Environmental Protection are evaluating fuel leakage and potential stream contamination.
The deputy said the truck has been difficult to access, but recovery crews eventually were able to reach the area, allowing search teams to look for a potentially trapped driver, according to an update from the sheriff’s office.
The driver was not found under the truck itself or the lumber it was hauling, the sheriff’s office said. The department said the driver has also not arrived at any area hospitals.
“There is a possibility that the driver could have fled the scene, there is a possibility he could be walking injured. You know, if he got a head injury or something he could be walking around,” the deputy said. “We also want to stress to the public that if you live in the area and you see somebody that doesn’t look like they belong here or somebody acting suspicious to go on and call it in so that we can get him checked.”
The deputy said if the driver was able to get out of the truck, they may be wandering around with serious injuries looking for help since the crash happened in the dark.
For now, the deputy said the main priority is to safely lift the truck from the hillside so the area can be searched for the driver and to prevent any further environmental damage.
Kanawha County is a 220-mile drive southeast of Cincinnati, Ohio.
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