Truck Crash On 93 Sends Vehicle Over the Guardrail

The large vehicle, which was transporting beer, dangled above the traffic below.

By Steve Annear· 8/9/2013, 2:37 p.m.

photo via @DennisMcCauley

State Police responded to the scene of a truck crash on Interstate 93 on Friday after the vehicle rammed into the sidewall, causing it to hang over the edge, above traffic below.

According to State Police the Leverett Circle ramp was closed down for anyone trying to get on 93 Northbound, and the left lane of the highway was closed off to traffic as officials investigated the scene.

Police said the driver of the truck, which was transporting Michelob Ultra, was able to get out of the vehicle’s cab safely after it slammed into the guardrail. The cab and first few feet of trailer were hanging off the ledge of the elevated highway near the Leverett Connector ramp, they said.

Dennis McCauley was driving underneath the ramp, trying to get onto 93 North when he saw the vehicle make contact with the guardrail, sending pieces of debris onto the cars in front of him, and immediately bringing traffic to a standstill. “We were driving along normally and the truck just hit the guardrail and a piece of the it came falling down. I didn’t even know what to think,” McCauley said. “A majority of the guy’s truck was just dangling. Whoever was in that truck must’ve been shitting themselves.”

He said drivers around him got out of their vehicles and cleared debris from the roadway so that their cars could pass and get away from the dangling vehicle above their heads. McCauley said had the accident happened two seconds earlier, the debris would have likely hit the top of his car. “I definitely could have been hit,” he said.

State Police were on scene as of 2 p.m. Friday investigating the situation, clearing away the wreckage, and trying to get the truck back on the road. All lanes on the Northbound side were closed due to diesel fuel on the roadway, which was causing hazardous conditions, police said. Traffic was snarled in both directions along 93 and transportation on both the MBTA and Commuter Rail were temporarily shut down because the tracks are directly beneath where the accident occurred.

The truck was removed from the roadway just after 6 p.m. Police are investigating what may have caused the crash, they said.

Below are more photos of the scene from @Mdecast and the Boston Fire Department: