Truck driver gets stuck on rural road
An Ohio truck driver delivering a new salad bar to a South Strabane Township grocery store Monday night was following the global-positioning system in his rig and instead ended up on a rural Chartiers Township road, tearing out guardrails that were erected just a few weeks ago.
Howard C. Schlesinger, 46, of Reynoldsburg, turned off Hickory Ridge Road onto McConnells Mills Road about 9:45 p.m. and went about a quarter-mile when he came to Horseshoe Bridge, police said. The left rear tandem wheels on the trailer struck the guardrail. The guardrail broke and a portion became lodged between the wheels and bottom of the trailer bed.
“He had a new salad bar for the Giant Eagle on Washington Road in the trailer,” said township police Officer Donald Cooper. “But he probably just programmed in Washington instead of Washington Road, and it may have been taking him to Washington Avenue.”
“When I asked if he really thought there was a Giant Eagle down that road, he told me ‘I didn’t know,'” the officer added.
McConnells Mills has a posted 10-ton weight limit, as well as a sign banning truck traffic.
The rig became disabled, not only because of the damaged guardrail but because it is impossible for a truck of its length to maneuver the windy road, police said. A towing company was called to remove the rig.
Police Chief James Horvath said this is not the first time a tractor-trailer driver followed his GPS, only to end up on a road where the rig should not have been in the first place.
“You would think the drivers would use some common sense if it doesn’t seem likely that they should be going down that road,” Horvath said. “Check a map. Our small roads are getting torn up. It is frustrating.”
McConnells Mills just reopened earlier this month after the township made emergency safety improvements. Township manager Jodi Noble said the township received permission from the state Department of Environmental Protection to make the repairs.
The project, done at an estimated $35,000, included a new culvert, rip-rap on either side to stabilize the culvert and widening of the curve to make it smoother. That part of the road also was paved and guardrails installed.
Cooper and Canonsburg police Officer Scott Bashioum, both motor carrier enforcement officers, weighed the truck and determined it was almost 20,000 pounds over the posted weight limit. The driver will receive three citations for the violations. The fine for the weight violation alone is more than $5,000. The charges will be sent by summons from the office of District Judge David Mark.