A Sea of Spuds Halts Traffic for Several Hours on a Massachusetts Highway

When a tractor trailer suddenly rolled over and slammed into a guard rail in Littleton, Massachusetts, its cargo load of thousands of potatoes littered the highway and disgruntled hundreds of drivers as traffic came to a screeching halt Friday evening.

The tractor trailer had been traveling westbound along Route 2 in Littleton near Interstate 495 when the incident occurred around 6:45 p.m., according to the Lowell Sun. After the vehicle rolled over and split upon striking the guard rail, scores of spuds spilled across both sides of the highway and blocked traffic, leaving one lane open in each direction as emergency personnel rushed over to help clean up the mess.

"Upon arrival we had a fuel leak, and obviously a lot of potatoes," said Littleton fire Chief Tom Clancy, according to WCVB-TV.

The tractor trailer's driver was treated for minor injuries at the scene, and Clancy stated that the truck appeared to have rolled over while it was exiting the southbound ramp from Interstate 495, WCVB reported. Officials noted that cleanup would likely take several hours as personnel removed debris and raked up the myriad of potatoes from the scene.

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