Overturned tractor-trailer halts power, traffic

Published 12:00 am Thursday, July 17, 2003

Suffolk News-Herald

A tractor-trailer accident on U.S. Route 460 early Wednesday left traffic snarled and hundreds without power for several hours. Lewis A. Perez-Zayas, 47, of Irvington, N.J., lost control of his 1998 Freightliner near the intersection of Kings Fork Road around 5:30 a.m. after the eastbound truck drifted onto the shoulder, said Officer Michael E. Simpkins, spokesman for the Suffolk Police Department. The truck struck a utility pole before overturning into a field.

The driver told police he couldn’t regain control of the truck because the shoulder was so soft.

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Perez-Zayas was charged with reckless driving and failure to maintain control of his vehicle, Simpkins said.

Dominion Virginia Power customers had power restored by 9 a.m., a company spokesman said.

Single lanes of traffic were moving in each direction by 10:30 a.m.

Perez-Zayas was wearing a seat belt. No alcohol was involved, Simpkins said.

The driver was treated and released from Obici Hospital.