Semi swerves to miss deer, blocks exit ramp Tuesday night

A semitrailer flipped over in Scott City shortly before midnight Tuesday night.

A trucker who was pulling two trailers exited Interstate 55 at Main Street, said Lt. Dennis Dolan of the Scott City Police Department. While on the southbound exit ramp, the driver swerved to miss a deer. The back trailer began to weave and tipped over, he said.

The driver was hauling 16,000 pounds of general merchandise in the trailer for Yellow Freight Lines, Dolan said.

Police responded at 11:50 p.m., and the ramp was closed for about a half-hour. The semitrailer lay across the exit ramp until 3 a.m.

It took crews about two hours to put the trailer upright using an air bag system and other machinery.

Dolan said the driver, who was from the Memphis, Tenn., area, was not injured. There was minor damage to the trailer, he said.

Pertinent address:

Scott City, MO