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Raw Video: Big Rig Collides With Freeway Sign

A bizarre accident involving a truck's trailer that struck an overhead road sign and was left balancing at an almost 90-degree angle shut down a Texas freeway on Tuesday.

All main lanes of I-45 North were closed overnight after the hydraulic lifter mysteriously raised the trailer as the truck hauling gravel headed northbound, causing it to crash into the green exit signs, KHOUS 11 News reported.

No one was hurt in the accident, which happened around 5:30 p.m. The road didn't reopen to traffic until Wednesday morning.

The cab of the truck was separated from the trailer and came to a stop farther down the Interstate, while hydraulic fluid spilled all over the freeway.

The trailer was hauled away around 9 p.m. Tuesday, then Texas Department of Transportation workers used two 150-foot cranes to take down the entire exit sign.

The Houston Police Department truck enforcement division is still investigating the crash, the Houston Chronicle reported. The driver is not thought to have been intoxicated.

"We don't know if it's mechanical failure or human error," Houston Police Department Capt. Charles Vazquez said.

Police said the driver will be issued at least one citation and could be held responsible for the cost of damage to the freeway, which the Texas DOT estimates cost up to $100,000, the Chronicle reported.

Drivers stuck in traffic said they were shocked by the wreck.

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Added: Aug-10-2011 Occurred On: Aug-10-2011
By: jbpnw
In:
Other News
Tags: big rig, semi, tractor trailer, lorry, stuck on sign, weird, wtf
Location: Houston, Texas, United States (load item map)
Marked as: approved, featured
Views: 35708 | Comments: 83 | Votes: 5 | Favorites: 4 | Shared: 27 | Updates: 0 | Times used in channels: 2
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