Overturned Semi Spills 15,000 Pounds Of Hot Dog Filler On PA Highway

ROSTRAVER, PA — Part of Interstate 70 south of Pittsburgh was closed for several hours last week after a semi-truck overturned, spilling more than 7 tons of hot dog filler on the highway.

Officials with the Rostraver Central Fire Department confirmed the crash happened Friday near mile marker 43 on westbound Interstate 70. The accident happened around 6:40 p.m. when the truck's driver lost control of the rig, drove off the right shoulder, and crashed into several trees, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported citing an accident report.

In the report, Pennsylvania State Police wrote that the "violent stopping motion of the tractor-trailer" caused the trailer to dislodge and 15,000 pounds of hot dog filler to "catapult" onto the roadway," the Tribune-Review reported.

Hot dog filler typically is made of a mix of beef, pork, and poultry, in addition to other ingredients like water, added fat, dry milk, cereal, and the preservative sodium nitrite.

Fire officials said two people were treated at the scene.

The driver of the truck will likely receive multiple citations, the Tribune-Review reported. An investigation into the crash also revealed that multiple brakes on the vehicle were inoperable.

The News-Tribune identified the driver as Makendy Lachald, 30, of Laurel, Delaware. Robert Gilles, 42, also of Laurel, was a passenger in the truck.

Hot dog filler is far from the strangest thing to spill onto Pennsylvania highways in recent months.

In April, a tractor-trailer on Route 309 near Sellersville flipped and spilled thousands of pounds of chicken nuggets onto the roadway, according to multiple reports. Crews remained on the scene for hours working to clean up the mess.

On one occasion, the cargo was alive.

In January, a truck carrying about 100 monkeys was involved in a crash in Montour County. At least three of the monkeys escaped the vehicle, authorities said. The monkeys were later found but had to be euthanized.