By Joseph Pratt
At about 4 p.m. Tuesday, a commercial semi-truck was en route for a delivery when he crossed the train tracks on Fairview Avenue, where State Route 23 crosses, when his truck hitch was caught on the tracks and became stuck.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol responded to the incident while Gahm’s Towing was called to remove the vehicle. Trooper Chris Williams, of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, said that the driver immediately realized he was stuck, stopped the vehicle to keep from damaging the tracks, and called for assistance.
The Highway Patrol shut down the right lane of traffic on State Route 23 while the truck was being removed from the tracks, which took no more than 20 minutes. Williams responded to the caught truck and said that he never had to completely stop traffic on 23. He also said that the situation was minor, thanks to the conscientious driver who stopped and called in.
Troy Gahm, whose family removed the truck from the tracks, explained that the truck’s trailer was pulled off, but they were able to remove it quickly.
“Gahm’s Towing removed it with a 60 ton wrecker. They put boards and stuff under it to pull it off safely. It didn’t damage the tracks, but it did dig deep ruts into the asphalt,” Gahm explained. “We were lucky the right people were alerted and we were able to respond before a train came through, or else we could have had a disaster on our hands.”
Gahm said that he has seen a few trucks stuck on those particular tracks over the years and says that he believes it could eventually lead to bigger issues if something is not done about it.
“They should have signs there that say no trucks, so people know not to try to do anything like that,” Gahm said.
Reach Joseph Pratt at 740-353-3101, ext. 1932, or by Twitter @JosephPratt03.
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Gahm’s towing removing the truck that was caught on tracks at the intersection of State Route 23 and Fairview Avenue
