…The semi was headed west when its raised bed slammed into the overhead sign near mile marker 200 as it approached the I-64/I-295 split.

Virginia State Police said the crash happened shortly after 9:30 a.m.

“The cab continued on and then stopped, obviously, because it had separated from the bed of the tractor-trailer,” Matt Demlein, a spokesperson for Virginia State Police, said. “We’re still investigating as to what led up to it actually hitting the sign. It was empty at the time.”

Troopers do not know why the bed was raised or how long it was up before the crash. But officials said the truck had stopped at a weigh station about a mile earlier, which is equipped with cameras…

  • PorradaVFR
    24•10 days ago

    My ten year old basic model sedan will jerk to a halt and put the transmission in Park if I try to move with the driver door not fully closed. I’d think a semi would be able to detect and alert that the damn dumper (?) is extended. Wow.

    • walden
      16•10 days ago

      You need to be able to move when dumping stuff. Above a certain speed an alarm would make sense, but disabling the truck once it’s up to speed is dangerous.

      • PorradaVFR
        2•9 days ago

        Well sure I’ve never tested it going highway speed but if I don’t fully close the door and try to pull out of a parking spot it moves like an inch then says “nope”. But my post was to at least alert the driver that the thing was not locked down - that seems pretty simple.

        • walden
          3•9 days ago

          Yeah true, an alert above a certain speed makes a lot of sense.