Cape Girardeau, MO : 18-wheeler carrying car parts rear-ended another truck carrying a large load of corn Monday near mile marker 97 in Cape Girardeau, February 9, 2015

Many motorists waited for over an hour Monday as emergency responders and road crews worked to clear a jackknifed semi-truck and a corn-covered southbound lane on Interstate 55.

Around 1:25 p.m. Monday, an 18-wheeler carrying car parts rear-ended another truck carrying a large load of corn near mile marker 97 in Cape Girardeau, police said at the scene.

Matthew Peters, the Cape Girardeau Police Department officer working the crash, said a truck carrying corn had just re-entered the right southbound lane after the driver pulled onto the shoulder to check some equipment when the truck was hit by an 18-wheeler, which was carrying car parts.

The truck carrying car parts then jackknifed and its front end went off the right side of the road, striking an embankment. Cape Girardeau police spokesman Darin Hickey said the crash caused the tires on the 18-wheeler to blow, which likely led to the jackknife.

Neither driver was believed to be seriously injured, though the driver of the truck carrying car parts complained of neck and shoulder pain at the scene and was considering seeking medical treatment. He was later transported to a local hospital for minor injuries, Hickey said.

The wreck closed the southbound lane of the interstate for about an hour -- police had reopened one lane as of 2:40 p.m. Monday. Southbound traffic was diverted to exit 99 while cleanup of the wreck continued.

The Missouri Department of Transportation was leading the clean-up process, which involved using plowing and sweeping equipment on the spilled corn kernels that spanned the roadway for about one-quarter of a mile.

Source :
Interstate truck collision snarls traffic; corn strewn over roadway