NEWPORT, Tenn. (AP) - A
worker helping to clear a rock slide from Interstate 40 in Cocke County
was injured when a large boulder came loose and smashed into a track
hoe.
SLIDESHOW
Mark Nagi, community
relations officer for the Tennessee Department of Transportation, told
WBIR-TV in Knoxville that the crew was chipping away at the boulder on
Thursday when it hit a track hoe that was being used to clear rock and
debris.
Nagi said the operator of
the track hoe jumped from the machinery and suffered a 2-inch cut on his
head. He was treated and released from a local hospital and was back on
the job later in the day.
The crew is clearing a mud and rock slide that has detoured traffic on the interstate. Until the debris is clear, I-40 West will remain closed to traffic at Mile Marker 451.
Westbound drivers are advised to take I-240 West (Exit 53B) in Asheville to I-26 West (Exit 4A) to I-81 South (Exit 8A) back to I-40 West.
The detour route is about 53 miles.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
All
content ©Copyright 2000 - 2012, WSMV, Nashville, TN.
(A Meredith Corporation Station) and WorldNow. All rights
reserved.