An overturned cement truck closed a southern Delaware highway for hours and knocked down a utility pole.
The initial investigation has determined a 2004 cement truck was traveling westbound on Laurel Road just east of Saunders Road near Millsboro, State Police reported.
The driver, Jeff Gustin 29 of Delmar, attempted to negotiate a turn and lost control which caused him to cross the center line. He drove into the ditch on the south side of Laurel Road.
The truck then overturned onto the south side of the road. The cement truck then slid into a Delaware Electric Co-op utility pole breaking the utility pole in half. The truck continued to slide until it came to a stop on the shoulder. The barrel containing the mix separated from the cement truck.
The driver was treated at the scene and transported by EMS to the Nanticoke Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Gustin was cited for careless driving.
Due to the barrel being detached from the cement truck, a large indentation on the south edge of the roadway was found.
The asphalt was cracked in numerous spots and the road had collapsed into the ditch. Delaware Department of Transportation arrived on the scene to repair the damage to the roadway.
Delaware Electric Co-op disconnected the power lines from the damaged utility pole and replaced the utility pole. The incident did lead to a power outage in the Gumboro area, the utility reported.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control arrived on scene due to the concrete spilled in the ditch. DelDOT advised there were no significant environmental hazards due to the spilled cement. DNREC will let the cement harden and remove it from the ditch at a later date.
Route 24 in the area of the crash was closed for about three hours as the crash was investigated and cleared.
