Two Semis Collide In Grant County, One Injured, Onions Spilled
One person has injuries following an accident involving two tractor trailer trucks in Grant County on Tuesday afternoon.
The Grant County Sheriff's Office says the wreck occurred just before 2 p.m. when 48-year-old Farhad Khwaja of Mississauga, Ontario ran a stop sign at the intersection of Road 6 Northwest and Adams Road and struck 45-year-old Oswaldo Cortez of Quincy.
"Cortez was pinned inside the cab of his semi," says Sheriff's spokesperson, Kyle Foreman. "He required extrication by emergency crews with Grant County Fire District No. 3."
Cortez suffered minor injuries and was transported to Quincy Valley Medical Center for treatment, while Khwaja and his passenger - 42-year-old Augustine Iyamu of Brampton, Ontario refused medical care at the scene.
Khwaja was hauling a load of processed onions which spilled on and around the roadway, and Foreman says their cleanup and several other factors caused the road to be closed for seven hours.
"There were several things that had to happen. First, the investigation, then the cleanup of the onions. Because they were processed and bagged the retrieval was done by hand. And finally, there was a diesel spill that required cleanup."
The road was finally reopened at around 9 p.m. and a detour was put in place while crews worked the crash scene.
Khwaja was issued a citation for causing the collision by failing to stop at the sign.
Foreman says Khwaja told investigators he ran the sign because he became distracted by his vehicle's navigation system.