Local

Burke County highway closed for overturned tractor-trailer

Photo by George Hildebran Fire Department

BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — Highway 18 in Burke County will be shut down for an "extended period of time" after a tractor-trailer overturned in a single-vehicle accident Friday morning, officials said.

Crews said the truck, which was carrying apples, drove off the right side of road and hit a power line pole.

Rutherford Electric is on its way to the scene to remove the power pole, while hazmat crews are being called to help secure a diesel leak.

The driver, 48-year-old Joseph Lee Oliver, was taken to a hospital in Morganton with minor injuries. Oliver was driving a truck for Delta Express Incorporate out of Asheville.

Officials are telling drivers to avoid the area and use Miller Bridge Road for northbound travel and George Hildebran School Road for southbound travel.