SNOHOMISH — He really had to go.
Police say a dump truck driver who spilled 98,000 pounds of dirt along U.S. 2 Friday morning and snarled traffic for hours had stopped to relieve himself.
“We want people to hopefully pull over at an exit and use proper facilities,” Washington State Patrol trooper Keith Leary said.
The trucker used poor judgment when he pulled off the shoulder, Leary said.
The accident happened about 8:30 a.m. when the man, 27, of Auburn, tried to ease the double- trailer dump truck over on the side of U.S. 2 near Roosevelt Road, east of Snohomish.
The truck’s wheels slipped down an embankment. It turned on its side, Leary said.
The truck was on its way to a landfill in Wenatchee carrying dredge spoils from Anacortes. The driver apparently was unfamiliar with the region, Leary said.
There are many gas stations and other businesses a few miles up the road in Monroe where he could have safely stopped to use the bathroom, Leary said.
It took work crews until about 1 p.m. to clear the road. Traffic was squeezed into a single lane during the cleanup effort. The trucking company will have to pay the bill, officials said.
Pulling over to use the shoulder, especially on narrow, two-lane U.S. 2, should be reserved for emergencies only, Leary said.
“It’s not safe,” he said.
People urinating on the side of the road also can be ticketed for exposing themselves. The truck driver was cited for driving with wheels off the roadway, Leary said.
Police allowed the man to do his business hidden behind the truck.
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.
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