80,000 apples spill when semi rolls over.

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80,000 apples spill when semi rolls over.

By Allison Scarbrough. Editor.

WEARE TOWNSHIP — A semi truck traveling from Sparta to Ludington rolled over in the median of US 31 Tuesday morning, Oct. 18, causing approximately 80,000 apples to spill.

The semi driver, 62-year-old Dennis Radford of Grand Rapids, received minor injuries in the single-vehicle crash.

Radford, who appeared to have some bruising to his forehead, said he was wearing his seatbelt when the crash occurred shortly before 10 a.m. Radford said he didn’t know what caused the crash. “It happened so fast,” he said. “I was driving along; hit the brakes, and I ended up here,” he said, as he looked at the wreckage.

“Some rescue guys came right away; cut the seatbelt loose; and got me out,” said Radford.

The apples, which were going to be used to produce applesauce, were being transported from Hubert Storage in Sparta to Indian Summer in Ludington, said Indian Summer Raw Products Manager Jack Shoop, who was at the scene. Shoop said that another one of his drivers, who was southbound on US 31, witnessed the crash and called him to the scene. “We try to help each other out,” Shoop said.

The 2001 Peterbilt semi truck was carrying 96 boxes of apples, Shoop said. Each box carries 18 bushels of apples, he said, which equated to approximately 80,000 apples.

Radford, who was treated at the scene by Oceana County EMS, said he has never experienced a crash before. “I’ve been driving truck all my life and have never had anything like this happen before. I have a clean driving record.”

The Hart Area Fire Department, and Hart post of the Michigan State Police, the Oceana County Road Commission and the Michigan Department of Transportation were at the crash scene.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated to remove the weight amount of 149,000 pounds. That information was provided to OCP by a reliable source at the crash scene, but it has since been retracted.