A nearby fork lift operator came in to help clear the road.
18 Wheelers Collide on 59, LIVINGSTON, January 6, 2011 - At approximately 1:25 pm on January 6, 2011, an 18 wheeler driven by James Johnson, 52, of Porter, was waiting to pull out of the parking lot of Texans Department of Transportation (located on the south-bound side of US-59 a short distance north of Livingston), Johnson pulled out but failed to yield to an oncoming white 18 wheeler hauling wafer board and driven by Guillermo Castillo, 27, of Spring. Castillo's rig collided with Johnson's rig. The collision sent both 18 wheelers into the grass as wafer board was strewn helter skelter all over the south-bound lanes of 59. Americare Ambulance Service was dispatched to the scene along with Deputies from the Polk County Sheriff's Office and DPS Troopers Ramey Bass, Rocky Thigpen, and Donny Akers. Johnson appeared to be knocked unconscious. Emergency personnel climbed into the cab of his rig and managed to carefully work him out of his cab and onto an ambulance. Johnson was transported to Livingston Memorial Hospital with undisclosed injuries. Castillo was physically okay. A fork lift operator volunteered his equipment to help get the wafer board out of the road. The south bound lanes of traffic was nearly halted as traffic was rerouted to the shoulder. A heavy-duty wrecker from Riley Wrecker Service out of Corrigan recovered Castillo's rig and it will be stored in Corrigan. Johnson's rig was moved back into the parking lot of TXDOT. Both parties had insurance. James Johnson was issued a citation for failure to yield right-of-way from a private drive. The mess was cleared up sometime after 6 pm.
Special thank you: Stash Anderson, Derek Baskin, Ken with Ken's Towing, Bryan Cox and Jim Harwood
SUV Slams Car During Cleanup of 18 Wheeler Accident, LIVINGSTON, January 6, 2011 - As the 18 wheeler accident was being cleaned up, one lane on the north-bound side of US-59 was blocked and had traffic crawling. During this time, a white Buick Century driven by Linda Jenkins of Livingston was slammed from behind by a gray Toyota 4Runner driven by Danielle Sullivan of Canada. Nobody was injured and Sullivan was cited for failure to control speed.
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Trooper Ramey Bass with the Texas Highway Patrol as a wealth of experience in working big rig accidents.
James Johnson appeared to be unconscious. Emergency personnel climbed into his cab.
Johnson was carefully removed from the cab of his truck and loaded onto an ambulance.
Johnson is loaded onto an ambulance and transported to Livingston Memorial Hospital with undisclosed injuries.
Guillermo Castillo of Spring was unhurt in the collision. (Also pictured is Trooper Rocky Thigpen)
The white 2004 Volvo was transporting wafer board and lost its load during the collision.
The red 2001 Mack Truck was hauling aggregates and had just unloaded his load prior to the collision.
Representatives from the Texas Department of Transportation lended a hand (the accident occurred right in front of their offices).
James Riley Wrecker Service is the one to call for the big accidents.
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