An eastern Iowa truck driver suffered minor injuries when the semi he was driving crashed at around 9:10-a.m. today (Tuesday), in Council Bluffs. According to Bluffs Police, the accident happened on Interstate 80 westbound, at mile marker 3.5.

A 2011 Peterbilt semi-tractor trailer fully loaded with meat products and operated by  43-year old David M. Raper, from Newton,  was westbound on I-80 when for unknown reasons the rig went out of control, and sideswiped a concrete barrier. The semi then hit a DOT portable electric sign on the shoulder of the interstate and continued into the grassy median where it went up an embankment.

The tractor-trailer overturned onto its side before skidding across four lanes of oncoming traffic on the I-80 eastbound and I-29 southbound split, where it struck a light pole. The rig finally came to a rest on the southwest shoulder of the I-80 eastbound and I-29 southbound split. Raper was transported by rescue to Jennie Edmundson Hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries and released. Police issued him a citation for failure to maintain control of a motor vehicle.

Bluffs Police officials credit two separate semi-tractor operators that were eastbound on I-80, and who observed the semi crossing the median into the oncoming lanes. Those drivers applied their brakes, stopping all the traffic behind them from continuing into the path of the out of control semi, possibly preventing multiple accidents or injuries.

Council Bluffs Police accident investigators were assisted by the Iowa State Patrol and will both be continuing their investigation. As of 2:15-p.m., the two far right lanes of the I-80 eastbound and I-29 southbound split remain closed, as well as the on ramp from the south expressway to the interstate until the towing company can remove the semi from the shoulder. All other lanes remain open for eastbound traffic.