Mashed Potatoes Halt Traffic On I-90

Wed., May 17, 2000

From Staff

A semitruck loaded with about 34 tons of Montana potatoes tipped over onto its side about 2.5 miles east of Wallace Tuesday, closing both the east and west lanes of Interstate 90 for a short time.

Another 18-wheeler got stuck in the spilled spuds before state crews were able to move them out of the way, Idaho State Police Trooper Ed Holbert said.

“We had potatoes going all over the place,” he said.

The driver of the potato truck was apparently driving too fast and failed to make it around a corner, Holbert said.

Crews used a front-end loader to move the spuds after the 1:36 p.m. accident. Traffic was shut down completely for about 10 minutes, then periodically as equipment moved potatoes and the wrecked truck.

Mark Gross, 22, of Reardan, Wash., was cited for failing to maintain his lane of traffic. Gross’ tractor was totaled, but he escaped injury, Holbert said.

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