Starting at about 2 p.m. Thursday July 18, there were lots and lots of sirens as emergency crews raced out to Highway 2 for a report of a multiple-vehicle collision.
However, a spokesman for the Innisfail Integrated Traffic Unit, which investigated the matter, says it turned out to be more of a minor incident.
Const. Jeff Schneider said due to high winds, a semi-trailer ended up in the ditch northbound, just south of the Highway 27 overpass.
There were no injuries.
"It was a B-train semi-truck, a double-trailer semi-truck, and it was quite windy. He was travelling northbound and the wind was causing him to hit the shoulder and then he just took the ditch at that point," Schneider said. "He did stay upright, so he basically just hit the ditch with his truck."
Schneider said the reason for all the sirens was that when the report initially came in, emergency crews were told a multiple-vehicle collision had occurred on the highway.
He was unable to say what precisely the truck was carrying.
"Just some light materials," he said. "It wasn't loaded very heavily, which makes it more of an issue in the wind with these things. Nothing hazardous."
A portion of the Highway 27 ramp was closed for about 45 minutes while crews dealt with the situation. Northbound traffic continued to flow, unimpeded.
Schneider said when emergency crews got there and discovered there were no injuries they simply assisted with traffic control.
He said the truck wasn't even damaged. Once the wrecker pulled it back onto the highway, the trucker drove off.
With files from Kristine Jean/MVP Staff
