Driver arrested for OMVWI after crash on I-70

Thursday, February 16, 2012

BRAZIL -- a 60-year-old Tennessee trucker was arrested on alcohol-related charges Wednesday morning following a one-vehicle accident that closed a portion of Interstate 70.

At 8:54 a.m., troopers from the Indiana State Police post at Putnamville responded to a semi tractor-trailer rollover on eastbound I-70 near the 24-mile marker in Clay County.

Preliminary investigation revealed that an eastbound 2000 Freightliner tractor, pulling a flatbed trailer loaded with PVC plastic pipe, traveled off the right side of the interstate and overturned onto the driver's side.

The load had originated in Columbia, Mo., and was bound for Middleton, Del., authorities said. Prime Inc. of Springfield, Mo., owns the tractor-trailer.

The driver, Charles Gregg, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., allegedly smelled of alcohol at the scene, State Police reported. He was transported to the Clay County Jail at Brazil, where he tested over the legal limit for intoxication in Indiana (.08 percent blood-alcohol level).

Gregg was incarcerated on a charge of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OMVWI), a Class A misdemeanor.

The Tennessee man was also cited for Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations pertaining to alcohol use.

Gregg was not injured in the accident.

In the aftermath of the I-70 accident, only the passing lane remained open eastbound. The interstate was shut down eastbound from 10:50 until 11:20 a.m. so the rig could be uprighted for towing.

All debris was reportedly cleared from the scene by 1:15 p.m., allowing the compete reopening of the eastbound lanes.

Indiana State Police Master Trooper Matt Ames conducted the crash investigation and the arrest of Gregg.

Ames was assisted by ISP Sgt. Chris Wright and ISP Trooper Bill Bradbury, the Indiana Department of Transportation and Peffley and Hinshaw Wrecker Service.

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  • Drivers like this one are the reason that thousands of good truckers have to deal with CSA and bad publicity. I hope he gets the maximum sentence allowed.

    -- Posted by Clovertucky on Thu, Feb 16, 2012, at 8:59 AM
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