Driver OK after semi tips on I-80

An overturned semi tractor-trailer stalled Interstate 80 commuter traffic for more than two hours this morning, but it appears the driver will be OK. Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Sharon Kurt said the male driver of the semi was transported to University Hospitals with what appeared to be minor injuries. His name was not immediately released.

"He just had bumps and bruises and it sounded like he hit his head," Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Sharon Kurt said. "It looks like he's going to be OK."

Kurt said the trailer tipped onto its side around 5:30 a.m. and blocked both westbound lanes of I-80 just west of the First Avenue overpass in Coralville. It's not yet known what caused the accident, but weather was not a factor, Kurt said.

Traffic backed up for about five miles as motorists were rerouted off the freeway. Kurt said the semi was in between the First Avenue ramps, allowing traffic to exit and go right back onto the interstate at that interchange.

Kurt said the door to the trailer came open, but none of the canned mushrooms, potatoes and other food items inside came out.

The highway was reopened just before 8 a.m. The accident remains under investigation. Source