Injuries Reported in Crash with Jackknifed 18-Wheeler on US-190 in Port Allen, LA
Port Allen, LA — January 6, 2023, at least one person was injured in a chain-reaction crash after a tractor-trailer jackknifed on US-190 in Port Allen.
Authorities say the incident happened shortly after noon on US-190 near State Route 415. Preliminary investigation suggests an 18-wheeler driver allegedly tried to make a U-turn on the highway but the big rig jackknifed and blocked both sides of the road.
An unknown number of vehicles crashed into the big rig; news reports say one person in a pickup truck suffered a head injury and was airlifted from the scene. The victim is expected to survive.
The accident remains under investigation. No further information is currently available.
Preliminary reports and footage from the scene show a tanker truck straddling the grassy median, with its front and back ends blocking travel in either direction. It even looks like the truck cut through the grass in a place not designated for a U-turn, but jackknifed while trying to complete the move. That resulted in a big roadblock for everyone else passing through, and if other vehicles hit the truck then the whole thing may have occurred over just a few moments.
To be clear, I wasn't there and there may be extenuating circumstances here I don't know about. I read the same reports as everyone else, but they seem to say a trucker improperly executed a U-turn (a maneuver heavily discouraged by many trucking companies) in an unapproved place and someone was hurt badly enough by crashing into it to need a helicopter ride out of there. It's too early to really understand exactly how that happened, but I think most would agree there's more than enough reason to find out.
