The sound, grating and enormously loud, was unexpected. I turned my head and there it was — a semi-truck jammed under the I-94 Mitchell Blvd. overpass.

It was early yet, 6:30 or 7 or 7:30 in the morning or something like that. Abe wouldn’t go on a walk this morning, so it was just Tennie and me crossing Mitchell Blvd. when the semi hit. It’s not unusual for semi drivers to bang their trailers on the overpass. There are warning signs all over the place, but drivers “in the zone” don’t even see them. Usually a little bit of the trailer top is peeled away before the driver stops.  Then the deputies come and help the driver maneuver out of his predicament and give him a ticket.

Today was different. Right after the accident, there was a moment of silence, probably while the driver passed from denial to the “oh, sh–” stage.

It was a remarkable sight. The trailer was jammed under the overpass. He didn’t just bank his trailer front on the overpass. His truck was wedged tightly underneath it.

The drive tried to move his rig forward. Tires spun, but nothing else moved. He tried again. He tried rocking the rig a few times.

And then he tried to back up. And his trailer just buckled.

Wow.

A few more seconds passed and then he got out of his ruined truck, talking on his cell phone. I can only imagine who he was calling and what he was saying.

Tennessee Petunia and I continued on our walk. By the time we started back, emergency crews were on the scene.

(Click on the pics to see larger images. There is a clearly visible and readable sign on the overpass in the fourth picture. Oh, sweet irony.)

About four or five hour later, when I went back for another peek, the crews and the truck were still there. The truck was looking a little different, though. Look ma, no cab. Look pa, no front tires.

This is the best ever jam job under the Mitchell Blvd. overpass. Most def.