4 hours to clean up semi mess

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Photo Courtesy of Joyce Hinrichs A semi rolled outside of Mott Wednesday. Many volunteers helped move several thousand pounds of products from the badly damaged trailer into a different truck.

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A semi carrying about 20,000 pounds of Alco products rolled on Highway 21, just outside of Mott Wednesday afternoon, according to the Hettinger County Sheriff’s Department.

“His tire went off the road and once the tire went off, the trailer went off and he couldn’t get it corrected in time,” Hettinger County Sheriff Matt Evenson said.

The driver, Steve Burns of Salinas, Kan., was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs and nobody was injured, Evenson said.

Several officers, East End Auto, and 15 to 20 volunteer firefighters pitched in to help move the products the truck was carrying.

“All the stuff was contained in the trailer, but the trailer started to crack and ended up cracking all the way on what would be the top, closest to the cab,” Evenson said. “We were unable to lift it without doing more damage, so we had to unload it pretty much by hand.”

He said it took about four hours to move all of the products to another truck.

Evenson believes the truck and trailer were likely totaled.

“The roof is smashed and the whole right side is smashed in,” Evenson said.

Tags: news, local, mott, semi