ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Interstate-4 reopened just after 3:00 p.m. Monday. The westbound lanes near Fairbanks Avenue were shut down for two hours after a semi hauling washing machines flipped over.
ON THE SCENE: Truck Overturns, Closes I04
The driver, Arthur Venson, said slippery roads caused him to lose control. Police cited him for careless driving. Despite the ticket, Venson says it was his experience that saved lives. Venson was shaken up and worried. Truck driving has been his livelihood for 38 years.
Venson's rig tipped over on I-4 westbound near Fairbanks causing back-ups for miles and delays for hours. He blamed slippery roads.
"It's like driving on black ice or snow. Once that trailer starts whipping around, all you can do is try to control it, all you can do is ride it out," truck driver Arthur Venson said.
Venson makes deliveries from Orlando to Jacksonville. Monday he was hauling washing machines. He wouldn't say where he picked them up or where they were going, he would only say they were headed to a warehouse.
Orange County firefighters worked to clean up a gas leak from the truck's 50-gallon tank.
The accident happened just before 1:00 p.m. There was a steady flow of traffic in I-4 west bound, but nowhere near the volume had it not been a holiday. No other cars were involved.
Venson said he's been in many accidents since he started driving trucks in 1972 but he says it was his experience as a driver that prevented him from hitting any other cars.
"Is it amazing to you, no other cars were involved?" WFTV reporter Liz Artz asked the driver.
"It's called driver's experience that's all it is," Venson said.
The accident happened between Lee Road and Fairbanks Avenue, a curve many drivers complain is dangerous. Venson wouldn't say if the curve was a factor.
"That's all it was, slippery. Once you lose control that's it, you lose control," Venson said.
WFTV
