KULPMONT - A dump truck hauling 23 tons of fine coal flipped and spilled its load at the entrance of a convenience store on Chestnut Street late Wednesday morning.
Rudolph Vorndran Jr., of Altoona, was driving a Peterbilt north on Chestnut Street (Route 61) at about 9:40 a.m. after picking up a load of coal - 46,480 pounds, according to his receipt from Harmony Mine outside of Mount Carmel.
Vorndran said he had crossed the intersection with Sixth Street when northbound traffic abruptly stopped. He didn't have enough time to come to a full stop and avoid a chain-reaction crash, he said, and he couldn't drive into the southbound lane as a heating oil truck was stopped there, as well.
"I would have crunched the back of a white van and then he would have hit someone else," Vorndran said at the scene. "I didn't want to drive into traffic.
"Rather than do that, I whipped it into the lot."
Vorndran made a sharp right turn into the parking lot of the Fuel On Convenience Store, as evidenced by the skid marks left on the road. His load shifted and the truck tipped over, coming to rest at the edge of the lot and just feet from crashing into a residential trailer at 618 Chestnut St. and a vehicle parked in front - not to mention the gas pumps a short distance away.
The coal spilled mostly onto the sidewalk in front of the trailer, some of it spilling into the yard and some onto the street.
Carl Marchetti was watching TV inside his home at 620 Chestnut St. when the accident occurred and was startled by the noise of the crash.
"I thought the gas station exploded. That's what it sounded like," he said while stepping just far enough outside his front door and into the frigid cold to have a look.
"It's lucky no one was walking there."
Police Chief Richard Wilson confirmed that no one was injured, adding that Vorndran was cited for careless driving.
Chestnut Street was initially closed to traffic from passenger vehicles between Sixth and Seventh streets, while large commercial vehicles and school busses were allowed to pass through instead of attempting to navigate the borough's narrow back streets.
A wrecker from Sunbury Motors was expected to arrive on scene to set the Peterbilt upright. The company was also expected to send a crew to clean up the coal.
The scene was cleared and normal traffic flow resumed at 1:50 p.m.
The truck is owned by Black Hawk Trucking Inc., Cresson.
Assisting Wilson at the scene were volunteers of Kulpmont Fire Department and Mount Carmel Fire Police.