Watermelon Truck Flips Over On Indiana Expressway Ramp
GARY, Ind. (CBS) -- A truck full of whole watermelons ended up on its side Tuesday morning, following an accident on the ramp between Interstates 65 and 80 in Northwest Indiana.
The semi-trailer truck heading down on the ramp from northbound I-65 to the westbound Borman Expressway (I-80/94) just before 9:30 a.m., when its driver, Michael Charles Kangas Jr., 37, of Gordon, Minn., said a car cut him off and then slammed on the brakes.
Kangas came into a curve too fast, and his load of watermelons was not properly secured when he braked, Indiana State Police said. Thus, the load shifted, and the semi rolled onto its passenger side.
While some of the watermelons spilled out of their boxes, none of them spilled out of the trailer.
Kangas suffered minor injuries, as did passenger Julia M. Hall, 40, of Tampa, Fla. Both refused medical treatment, state police said.
Kangas, who was hauling the watermelons from Georgia to Morris, Ill., was ticketed for speeding too fast to avoid a collision and having an insecure load.
The right and middle lanes of the I-65 northbound to I-80 westbound ramp were to be closed for six hours, so crews could take away the truck and all the watermelons.
