Rig carrying gravel crashes on Route 61

A tractor trailer rig carrying 80,000 pounds of gravel/stone crashed along a Schuylkill County roadway on Tuesday.

State police at Schuylkill Haven said Paul Breiner, of Andreas, was driving a Peterbilt tractor with trailer northbound on Route 61, just south of Route 895 in West Brunswick Township when the rig began to drift off the road.

The tractor struck the guide rail, continued north striking a bridge riding up alongside it for about 200 feet.

After the bridge, the truck drove up along a second guide rail, but continued its momentum to the right, turning over onto its right side and going down an embankment for about 20 feet from the road.

Breiner, who was not injured, managed to get out of the truck on his own power, troopers said. The rig is owned by Leiby's Inc.

Assisting troopers at the scene were volunteers from the Deer Lake/West Brunswick and Orwigsburg fire companies and EMS units from Auburn and Schuylkill Haven.

Troopers said Breiner will be cited for the crash.