Semi Driver Facing DWI Charges Following I-74 Crash

The semi struck a gaurdrail before traveling down over a hill and rolling over. (Image: ISP)
The semi struck a gaurdrail before traveling down over a hill and rolling over. (Image: ISP)

A semi-truck driver is accused of driving drunk after a crash on I-74 near West Harrison early Tuesday.

Officers say the 2013 Freightliner carrying a box trailer loaded with orange juice was heading west around 7:50 a.m. when it left the roadway, struck a guardrail, traveled over a hill and rolled on it’s side between the westbound lanes and Exit 169.

ISP Troopers said the driver, Dale Watson, of St. Louis, claimed that he dosed off before running off the interstate.

The first officer on the scene said the odor of alcohol was detected on Watson. The driver was taken to the Dearborn County Jail where police allege he blew a .21 blood alcohol content, nearly three times the legal limit.

Watson has been charged with DWI and several Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations violations.

Investigators were on the scene of the accident nearly all of Tuesday morning and the exit ramp at Exit 169 was closed for upwards of four hours as wreckers removed the semi.

No one was injured in the crash.