Don’t ask the cops “where’s the beef?” after a truck driver made a big “mis-steak.”
An 18-wheel tractor trailer loaded with Canadian beef struck a westbound overpass of the Jackie Robinson Parkway in Queens Friday morning, forcing police to close the roadway until the vehicle could be unloaded and cleared from the highway, police said.
No injuries were reported at the 10:45 a.m. crash at the Park Lane overpass next to Union Turnpike in Kew Gardens, but all westbound lanes were closed. Police were forced to back cars off the highway.
The truck, owned by Fratehaul of Calgary, Canada, was hauling several tons of Canadian beef to retailers when it struck the 11 foot, eight inch overpass, shearing off the top of the truck and scattering pieces all over the highway. A piece of the truck also struck an east-bound SUV driven by a woman, but she was apparently uninjured in the crash.
Highway police arriving on the scene found the truck in the right lane, but the roof and debris covering both lanes of the narrow highway. Vehicles quickly backed up all the way to the Van Wyck Expressway and caused severe delays around the area.
Police say the driver, who has not been identified, will receive a summons for driving his truck onto the parkway that prohibits commercial vehicles, and especially trucks. The truck itself was seriously damaged and hydraulic fluid dumped onto the roadway. Hazardous materials firefighters were on scene to contain the spill.
Crews expected it to take several hours to remove the vehicle from the parkway.
