Truck hauling caramel crashes on I-94
A semitrailer truck hauling barrels of caramel crashed on I-94 near Wadsworth on Monday afternoon, injuring the driver and spilling 35,000 pounds of the sticky substance into a roadside ditch.
The accident happened about 3:30 p.m. in the eastbound lanes, just south of the Wisconsin state line.
The truck swerved from the far-right lane into the far-left lane and then into a ditch, Illinois Master Sgt. Susan Ewald said. It hit a light pole and flipped onto its side.
The impact broke open the cargo area of the truck and the caramel spilled out, Ewald said.
Fortunately for passing motorists, the gooey mess didn't hit the roadway. And even though one lane was closed for emergency vehicles, traffic wasn't slowed down by the crash, Ewald said.
The driver was freed from the truck cab by rescue crews and taken by ambulance to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
He was identified as Gejza Pitel, 66, of Schiller Park. Charges are pending, Ewald said.
Pitel was driving the truck for Turbo Express, a Bensenville company.