By Echo Menges
Jody Small, 56, of Memphis was lucky to escape a rollover crash in Knox County this week. Small walked away from the tractor-trailer rollover with only minor injuries and a few scratches Monday afternoon, October 16, 2023.
The same cannot be said for the tractor-trailer he was driving.
According to Knox County Sheriff Carl Knoche, emergency crews were called to the scene of the rollover at approximately 2:45 p.m. The Knox County Sheriff’s Office, Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Knox County Ambulance District, and the Hurdland Volunteer Fire Department responded to the call.
The single vehicle rollover occurred on Highway 6 between Edina and Hurdland when the westbound tractor-trailer carrying a tank full of milk dropped off the right side of the roadway, which caused the trailer to slip down the steep embankment taking the tractor with it. Both the tractor and trailer rolled, according to driver Jody Small, before the cab of the truck was nearly crushed in the crash with Small inside.
Small freed himself from the wreckage climbing out of the driver’s side window before help arrived.
The tractor was demolished in the crash. The trailer loaded with approximately 5,500 gallons of milk remained intact following the crash with only a few gallons of milk lost.
According to a representative of Graman Farms of Memphis, the milk was on its way to be delivered to Jefferson City. The route through Knox County was taken due to bridgework eliminating access to Highway 63 from Highway 136 near Lancaster, which brought the driver south through Edina.
Lakeside towing of Memphis recovered the mangled tractor-trailer from the crash scene, but not before the milk was pumped out and taken on to its destination.
Because the milk remained mostly in the tank, it was pumped into another tank at the scene of the crash and continued on its way to be delivered to Jefferson City when emergency crews cleared the crash scene at approximately 5:45 p.m.
