Daily photo by John Godbey Aluminum cubes are strewn at the site of Wednesday's wreck, but nobody was hurt.

'A dead-bang straight shot'
Tractor trailer crashes on Ala.20-U.S. 31 bridge; scrap metal strewn, but nobody hurt

By Seth Burkett
sburkett@decaturdaily.com · 340-2355

An 18-wheeler wreck left its split trailer dangling from a bridge, strewing cubes of crushed aluminum into the roadway below early Wednesday.

No one, including the truck driver, suffered injuries in the 4 a.m. crash on Alabama 20 at U.S. 31, Decatur police said.

Police did not immediately identify the driver and said they had not determined what caused the truck to run head-on into railing of the curved overpass.

"The driver stated he didn't remember anything about the accident," said Lt. Frank DeButy, a police spokesman.

"It was a dead-bang straight shot," DeButy said. "He never turned the wheels, or if he did, the vehicle didn't turn. He went straight into the bridge railing. That vehicle never turned an inch."

DeButy said the trailer rotated around the tractor and skidded atop the railing, leaving it hanging precariously over traffic on U.S. 31.

The trailer broke and the portion extended over the railing fell, spilling the load of compressed scrap metal.

The back end of the trailer remained hanging from the part still on the overpass, looking as though it were on a hinge, DeButy said.

Traffic on U.S. 31 and Alabama 20 slowed considerably until about 9 a.m. while crews cleaned up the trailer and its load, DeButy said.

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