Logging truck rollover ties up U. S. 522 traffic

A truck carrying logs rolled over after rounding the curve at Fish Hatchery Road near the Virginia line on Tuesday morning, June 19, tying up highway traffic for about half an hour.

The Peterbilt tractor-trailer was driven by Amiel McKinley Montz, 36, of Quicksburg, Va. and was heading north on U.S. 522 around 9:30 a.m. The rig was owned by Shenandoah Valley Logging Company in Mount Jackson, Va.

Corporal Craig Pearrell of the Bath Town Police was on his way to work at the time and had just turned north from Fish Hatchery Road. He was two cars behind the logging truck and saw the driver lose control and roll off the road.

Pearrell radioed 911 dispatch and went to assist the driver who was trapped in the cab, according to Morgan County Sheriff's deputies T. Link and G. H. Shirley who investigated the accident.

Pearrell enlisted the help of a passerby with a four-wheel drive vehicle. They attached a chain from the vehicle to the roof of the truck's cab and pulled the roof back far enough so Montz could be extracted.

Montz told police that a bee flew into the cab and as he was swatting at the bee, the truck ran off the shoulder and turned over in a field near the Fish Hatchery.

Montz suffered shoulder pain and several small cuts and abrasions, Link said. He was transported to Winchester Medical Center by the Morgan County Rescue Squad.

Montz was not cited for the accident.

Also responding to the scene were Berkeley Springs Volunteer Fire Department, South Morgan County Volunteer Fire Department and Frederick County Rescue.