A Shady Side man was killed instantly yesterday morning when his 25-ton trash truck careened through a guardrail on Route 100, closing a portion of the highway for seven hours, officials said.
James Lee Knisley, 47, of the 1700 block of Maryland Ave. was driving east when he lost control of the truck shortly before 6:30 a.m. The accident occurred near the Oakwood Road exit.
Valerie Edgar, a spokeswoman for the State Highway Administration, said the eastbound lanes of Route 100 were closed between Interstate 97 and Oakwood Road from 6:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
"Our crews were able to get in there and do some temporary repairs to the guardrail," Ms. Edgar said. SHA crews also managed to right the truck, which was towed from the scene about noon, said Sgt. Michael King, a Maryland State Police spokesman.
The truck, owned by Eastern Waste Industries (EWI), nearly blocked both lanes of eastbound traffic. Only a small amount of trash spilled onto the road, police said.
After the crash, a car slammed into the wrecked truck and went down an embankment. The car's driver ran onto the road to warn approaching vehicles, but not before another car hit the truck, Sergeant King said.
Chief Gary Sheckells, a spokesman for the county Fire Department, said the driver of the second car, Charles Treuting, 61, was taken to North Arundel Hospital to be evaluated for possible spinal injuries. He was treated and released. Sergeant King said the other driver was treated at North Arundel for minor injuries.
Police investigating the accident said they didn't know why Mr. Knisley lost control, Sergeant King said.
The truck has forklifts on the front that allow it to lift and dump garbage from trash bins. Mr. Knisley had worked for EWI for 13 years. He had a load of trash and was on his way to dump it when the accident occurred, said William Levasseur, an attorney for Browning Ferris Inc., which owns EWI.