Update: Driver Cited After Log Truck Overturns In Century

June 14, 2016

The driver was cited after a log truck overturned in Century Monday afternoon, shutting down North Century Boulevard.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 66-year old Ronald Edward Crutchfield of Brewton was traveling north in the outside lane of North Century Boulevard near Jackson Street just before 5 p.m.. As he rounded a curve in the roadway, the weight of his load shifted to the right side, causing the vehicle to overturn as it exited the curve.

Crutchfield suffered minor injuries and was transported to D.W. McMillan Hospital in Brewton. He was cited by the FHP for careless driving.

Power lines were downed by the accident across North Century Boulevard, closing all four lanes of the highway. Gulf Power initially reported 24 customers without power following the crash.

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NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

14 Responses to “Update: Driver Cited After Log Truck Overturns In Century”

  1. Betty H on June 17th, 2016 5:24 pm

    He did get a ticket…for careless driving…not speeding.

  2. Shay on June 17th, 2016 12:43 am

    So because someone drives a big truck they should be exempt from tickets? I call shenanigans. He should have no special rights just because he drives a big rig. If a “four wheeler” gets a ticket so should he.

  3. Who, Me on June 16th, 2016 10:35 am

    I hope the truck driver will be ok. I think we should give the truck drivers a break; my dad was a truck driver, and no matter how careful you are these things happen and it is because we have four wheels and can stop on a dime. Most wrecks are cause by us and all we want to do is blame the big rigs. Just think if you driving one and you have all that weight pushing you and there is a suv and wet road conditions also you are driving speed limit and the suv stops for apparent reason. What should you do? hit the suv or roll your own truck. Think out it next time before you judge the the truck drivers.

  4. Dennis on June 15th, 2016 5:52 pm

    Started as speeding if conditions warranted a slower speed than posted, lawyers involved, it became to fast for conditions, lawyers involved, now it is careless driving, You gotta love the law and lawyers……

  5. Bert on June 15th, 2016 4:21 pm

    Its amazing how many armchair truck drivers we have on here. Yall dont need to beat this man up on here, I am pretty sure it wasnt intentional. Unless you was in that truck, you have no idea and no room to chastise.

  6. Citizen on June 15th, 2016 12:20 pm

    Contact FDOT yourself about issues. They listed the ladies name, her email is not hard to find. Realize when you see an issue, see what you can do and don’t complain about “THEY” need to do it. Figure out who to report issues to and do it yourself. Make a difference. If you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem. Educate yourself. Century didn’t put in the palm trees nor do they build state highways. I thankful the leaders took time to go to a meeting on our behalf.

  7. LadyRebel on June 15th, 2016 2:04 am

    @Shay

    First off as a wife of a trucker I would like to say I’m sorry about the loss of your husband. No one should have to go through that.

    Now as far as the ticket. No where in this article did I see it said he was speeding. Century needs to put money into making the roads better in that curve instead of adding palm trees. Trucks are supposed to stay in the right lane. That curve is bad about leaning trucks just enough to shift a load. As soon as I seen it I figured it was what happened. He should have not gotten a ticket unless he was speeding. Thank God the driver and everyone around him are safe.Could he had moved over before getting to the curve? I don’t know I wasn’t there. Maybe someone was in his lane and he couldn’t pass safely. So then I guess it would have been he risked his life taking the curve to avoid the person in the left lane being hit by him trying to avoid the curve. At 10 miles an hour a fully loaded semi can total out a car and cause serious damage to someone. I know I was rear ended last year by one. So he could have slowed down to under the speed limit and when the load shifted it was left in the hands of God!

  8. Shay on June 15th, 2016 12:53 am

    @Why give them a ticket?

    Seriously? So we should give a free pass to everyone who causes an accident and or damage due to their negligence? I wonder if you’d feel differently if their actions caused the harm or death of your loved one? Imagine if there had been a family in an suv next to the driver.

    At 66 y/o I’m assuming he’s driven a truck or two (I could be wrong) and because he has he should’ve known a logging truck was top heavy and to slow down for the road conditions.

    I am the widow of a long haul trucker who slammed into the back of another big rig that was stopped in a utility zone. He was burned alive in his truck. We don’t know the reason he didn’t stop. Maybe he had a health crisis,maybe he fell asleep or maybe he was distracted as he sometimes was but all we know is that he didn’t stop and he paid with his life. I’d have preferred a ticket. These big rigs(over 70,000 lb vehicle) have a bigger responsibility driving on the roads with us tiny cars and suv’s and shouldn’t be given a break just because they have more to worry about. If anything they should receive harsher penalties when found at fault for an accident. My life and the lives of my children, driving on the roads with these trucks, doesn’t matter less just because a careless driver had more to worry about. If he had killed someone in the accident I assure you he’d have much,much worse to worry about.

    Having said that I hope the gentleman recovers from his injuries and thanks God that it was just powerlines and a truck that was damaged.

  9. know it all on June 14th, 2016 6:39 pm

    Same place peanut truck got the power too a few years back.

  10. Phillip on June 14th, 2016 5:39 pm

    Belinda,
    they were given a ticket because they were driving carelessly. Hundreds of people make that turn every day without causing a wreck and damaging property. This driver did not use the necessary care when securing the load and negotiating the turn. Pray for the family, ticket bad drivers.

  11. Belinda on June 14th, 2016 12:52 pm

    Why give them a ticket they have enough to worry about it was accident he didn’t plan on overturning the truck my husband drives a log truck we need to be praying for the family

  12. henry powell on June 13th, 2016 9:18 pm

    I hate that this happened to another individual due to that section of hazardous hwy! The road actually leans out away from the curve which is very dangerous, and the drains are extremely to close to the travel Lane of the hwy.

  13. kdh2013 on June 13th, 2016 6:35 pm

    My prayers goes out to the driver and the family of the driver.

  14. Century on June 13th, 2016 6:04 pm

    Hope driver is not injured. That is right about where a power pole was taken out by a driver a few weeks ago and power was out for about 7 hours. I think water stands in that right lane and it was a torrent of rain this afternoon. This is where the speed limit was dropped to 30 MPH. The FDOT meeting is about to begin. It is hazardous traveling through there. Trucks are pushing through on a destination as are tourists. Pedestrians walk through there and locals frequent the businesses. I think the traffic on that main corridor has outgrown the current design. Wonder what the FDOT five year plan entails. Be Safe and aware…Slow Down.