Semi tips over, really gets things rolling

They weren’t supposed to be off-road tires, but that’s what they became Friday morning – literally.

A Les Schwab semi-truck spilled about 50 auto tires onto the shoulder of Interstate 90 after hitting a patch of ice and jackknifing, tipping one of its two trailers on its side, said Les Schwab manager David McAllister.

“Can you believe it?” McAllister said.

“It’s kind of a bad luck thing. With all the trucks we have on the road, things like that are bound to happen. We’re just fortunate that nobody was injured.”

The truck was headed to the Les Schwab Tire Center on Northwest Boulevard after leaving corporate headquarters in Pineville, Ore. It was just about at the turnoff to Cheney about 8:30 when it overturned, McAllister said.

Road conditions were poor following an overnight storm that dumped several new inches of snow across the region.

Though McAllister wasn’t sure what kind of tires were on the truck, “it’s going to need new tires after that incident,” he said.

Workers from several local Les Schwab stores showed up at the scene and transferred the semi’s entire load of tires into another vehicle. A tow truck had moved the semi, and workers cleaned up the mess in about 45 minutes, McAllister said.

The driver was uninjured, and although cars slowed as they passed the accident, no other vehicles were involved.

A spokeswoman for the Washington State Patrol said she was unsure if any citations had been issued in connection with the crash, but investigators did interview the driver.

No tires involved in the crash were damaged, McAllister said.