Charlotte , NC : Tractor-trailer slides from I-485 18-wheeler ran off the road and down an embankment on Monday Morning, 17th November 2014

Interstate 485 in South Charlotte was slow going for at least three hours Monday. At one point, it was down to one lane on the inner loop near Providence Road after an 18-wheeler ran off the road and down an embankment. Troopers are looking at Monday's weather of the crash because mechanically, troopers said everything seemed to be working fine on the truck. The accident happened before noon Monday, just as rain was pouring down, leaving conditions slick and visibility low. “I thought it was going to be worse when I got here but he [truck driver] was walking around fine and he didn’t have to go to the hospital,” Trooper Scott Powell with State Highway Patrol said. Channel 9 spoke with the truck driver. He said he was headed to Spartanburg with an empty trailer. Troopers said that lack of extra weight could have saved him. “Fortunately his van was empty. If it was full, it probably would have had more momentum to roll down the hill,” Powell said. Instead, the driver escaped unharmed. The truck slid and didn’t roll. Troopers said trees provided a soft landing. At least 70 gallons of diesel fuel leaked from the truck, which was cleaned up by hazmat crews. Drivers had to sit in traffic while cleanup was underway. “No one gets on the interstate and plans to sit for two, three, four hours,” Carolyn Logan with NCDOT said. Logan said most people are driving too fast in severe weather. “They’ll drive the speed limit and they’ll think it’s OK but it is not,” Logan said. Source : Tractor-trailer slides from I-485 during wet, foggy morning