Crash on interstate caused by trucker pulling his tooth

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Alabama authorities say a tractor-trailer crashed on Interstate 20 because the driver lost control while he was pulling one of his teeth.

The Alabama Highway Patrol says the truck driver told troopers he had taken his hands off the wheel to pull a loose tooth when he wrecked near Tuscaloosa. The crash report states: "He had the tooth in his shirt pocket as proof."

The tractor-trailer veered off I-20 into a ditch late Sunday and smashed into a tree. The crash shut down a stretch of interstate for about 11 hours until a single lane reopened Monday morning.

Authorities say the 57-year-old driver wasn't seriously hurt. Al.com reports (http://bit.ly/1Lq0gjx) the Highway Patrol redacted the driver's name from its copy of the crash report released to reporters.