A loaded concrete truck flipped over on its side as it was making a sharp turn on a steep portion of the Gifft Hill Road (Route 104) on St. John just after 1 p.m. on Wednesday.
According to Police Sgt. A. Carty, the driver was resting in a nearby ambulance but was not seriously hurt. The truck was heading downhill toward the Fish Bay Road when it fell, crushing a concrete block retaining wall alongside a driveway at a nearby home.
“I was right there when I heard the screeching (of brakes) and then a crash,” said Crystal Christy, one of the residents. “My friend had just pulled out of the driveway; she flew out when she heard the noise of the truck coming.”
Christy says she often hears vehicles struggling to brake as they descend the hill at the turn next to her home. “Sometimes (when I hear them come) I grab the dog and head toward the house. I’m not sure which way to run,” she said.
spill on the road. (Photo by Amy H. Roberts)
The crash only partially obstructed the uphill lane of Route 104, and the road was soon passable, according to Carty. Employees from V.I. Fire and Emergency Services and the Department of Public Works assisted police with directing traffic and shoveling dirt onto a stream of fluid that trickled out of the truck. The concrete did not spill, and traffic was moving easily around the truck by late afternoon.
Carty did not identify the concrete company that owns the truck, but several men wearing lime green shirts bearing the name of a St. Thomas concrete company, Heavy Materials, were on the scene.
Heavy Materials dispatcher Craig Christopher said the truck that went over was privately owned and was not part of its fleet. Christopher said it was on its way to make a delivery at a home on Ditleff Point when it fell over. The driver was the sole occupant of the truck, he said.
