High winds cause produce trucks to crash

High winds caused a semi-trailer truck to crash at 6 a.m. Monday on I-70 west of Kingdom City, scattering potatoes and onions onto the median. The driver was not injured.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported two tractor-trailer trucks carrying produce overturned when hit by high winds early Monday morning in Central Missouri. The tractor-trailer truck carrying onions and potatoes in Callaway County was driven by Daniel Batliner, who was not injured. That accident occurred at 6 a.m. Monday on Interstate 70 close to the 143-mile marker near the MM exit.

Batliner's truck was eastbound when a gust of wind caused a trailer tire to come into contact with the median. That uneven surface threw the truck out of control and caused it to overturn.

The Callaway County Heath Department embargoed all of the produce and ordered all of it to be taken to a landfill.

The other tractor-trailer rig carrying produce that overturned was on U.S. 63 just south of Highway 22 in Boone County at 4 a.m. Monday. That semi was transporting strawberries. The driver was Arpinder Singh, 28, Perris, Calif., who had minor injuries but refused treatment at the scene.

During the weekend, four people were injured in four other separate vehicle accidents in Callaway County.

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.