Traffic Jam...

When I go to training classes (in much larger cities than Paducah), I invariably get in discussions with classmates about work commutes. Many of my classmates end up driving over an hour to work because of a) distance (can't afford housing in the city) and/or b) traffic jams. I tell them I have a less than 15 minute drive to my employer (USEC). The only traffic jam I run into is when a farm implement is moving down the road or a cow gets loose.

Last night, we were coming home from Paducah and ran into a line of traffic on Hiway 62 west. That usually means a wreck of some type. Several police cars and vehicles passed us and we were finally allow to proceed to a side road for a detour.

This is the story and photo from the Paducah Sun. One of the perils of living in the country...

Wreck blamed on spilled soybeans
Teen driver skids on US 62 grain

Katie Fostevold, 17, of Bardwell was treated at Lourdes hospital Saturday night after her car “hydroplaned” on spilled soybeans on Blandville Road, hit a tree and burst into flames.

“She was trapped and screaming as smoke filled the car,” said Concord Fire Chief Bob McGowan, the first person on the scene. The driver was able to breathe because her side of the car smashed into the tree and its windows were broken, McGowan said.

McGowan said a few residents tried to extinguish the fire by carrying pans of water from their homes. McGowan used a large carbon-dioxide extinguisher from his vehicle to suppress the fire until fire crews and truck could arrive to extinguish the car’s flames.

“They essentially saved her life,” McCracken County Deputy Chad Shaw said.

Three other teenagers — Katie’s sister Amy Fostevold, 17, and Justin Cotton, 18, both of Bardwell, and Chris Polivick, 17, of Arlington — were in the car. All three were out of the car by the time McGowan arrived, he said.

The three passengers were treated and released at Lourdes. No condition information was available on Katie Fostevold.

At least 500 bushels of soybeans had spilled onto Blandville between Fisher and Gholson roads because a latch on a truck carrying the load was not secured, Sheriff Jon Hayden said.

“When the truck turned west onto Blandville Road from Fisher Road, the load of soybeans spilled onto the road,” Hayden said. “The truck driver was not aware” that the latch on the truck was not secured, Hayden said. As much as 4 inches of soybeans covered the road.

Fostevold was driving west on Blandville when her car skidded on the soybeans, veered over the center line and almost collided with oncoming traffic. She swerved back to the right, spun, left the road and smashed sideways into a tree, McGowan said.

Traffic came to a stop at Childress Road, and deputies set up roadblocks at Massac Church Road to reroute westbound traffic.

The Kentucky Highway Department cleared the road by using a snowplow equipped with sweeper brushes to push the soybeans to the side, spokesman Keith Todd said.

“We usually try to keep that kind of equipment available during the holiday travel season because it might be needed at a roadside accident,” Todd said.

Crews were able to clear the road by 8 p.m., about three hours after the wreck occurred.