GARBAGE TRUCK TIPS OVER SOMETHING MORE THAN A DUMPSTER ON HIXSON PIKE

Saturday, July 30,2005 - 9:30am - City of Chattanooga Firefighters responded to an accident with injuries involving a garbage truck in the 6500 block of Hixson Pike near the entrance to the Rams Gate Subdivision, in Middle Valley. When rescuers arrived on the scene they found a white van on it's side, just off the right side of the roadway. The patients had already been moved into a nearby business.

Emergency crews quickly started checking the man and woman for injuries received in the crash. Both of them where traveling in the van that had rolled onto it's side during the crash. The driver of the garbage truck was said to have been uninjured in the accident.

The wreck was said to have occurred when a garbage truck was making a right hand turn out of the left hand travel lane, crossing into the lane of the van. The van unfortunately struck the truck and then rolled onto it's side. A witness at the scene said he could not figure out why the garbage truck was turning right from the left hand lane.

Both the man and the woman was rushed to North Park Hospital by ambulance. Their conditions are not known, but are also not believed to be life threatening. Damage to their van was extensive. Traffic on Hixson Pike was backed up for a short time while crews cleaned up the wreckage.

Story and photos by Bill Carson