Portion of Hwy. 26 closed Monday due to large coal spill

An elderly man was injured and a busy Whitley County road is still partially blocked after a coal spill caused travel delays and traffic trouble early Monday morning on Hwy. 26 at Faber.

Officials on the scene are trying to locate the truck involved in the incident to find out just who is to blame in the incident that happened just after 9 a.m. and they say they could be facing legal troubles.

“I would say if they find out who is responsible, he will be in some trouble,” Woodbine Volunteer Fire Department Chief Rick Fore said.

As if the mess of the estimated half-ton of coal in the roadway was not enough, an elderly man passing through the underpass shortly after the spill lost control of his vehicle as he traveled through the spill, eventually coming to rest on the opposite side of the road, nearly striking a volunteer fireman in the process. The man, who is yet to be identified, was treated at the scene by Whitley County EMS and eventually flown from the scene by Air Methods.

According to witnesses, a heavily loaded coal truck was seen passing through the area just before the incident occurred, but no identifiers were reported.

Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement Officer Charles Garland is investigating the incident and said he would hopefully have more information available later in the day.

“I really haven’t been able to see exactly what we have at this time,”

Garland said. “I am just getting the investigation under way and hopefully we will know more later in the day.”

See Wednesday’s print version of the News Journal for a complete story.