Truck on I-95 blows tire, overturns

RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. - A "cherry picker" repair truck flipped on its side, inches away from falling off the highway Friday on I-95 at the Blue Heron Bridge overpass.

"Simply put the driver had a tire blow out and he lost control," said Lieutenant Tim Frith, with the Florida Highway Patrol.

Kevin Garon, a contractor for Florida Power & Light was at the wheel.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Garon was headed North, on the left hand lane, near the median.

"The driver lost control, hit the median, bounced off of it, went across the shoulder, and overturned," said Frith.

By the time it came to a stop, the truck's boom was dangling from the concrete barrier.

Adding to the chaos, the fuel tanks ruptured sending diesel all over I-95.

"There was a small haz-mat situation, Riviera Beach Fire Rescue did a great job maintaining it," said Frith.

Traffic was narrowed to two lanes, while crews worked to clear up the road.

Despite the ordeal, the driver suffered only minor injuries.

He was transported to Columbia Hospital.

"Usually when you have a vehicle of that size and an incident on the highway, usually you have 2 or three vehicles involved, and several injuries, this time we were fortunate," said Frith.

According to the Florida Department of Transportation, the barrier wall was damaged and they will start working on it right away.

There does not appear to be any serious structural damage.