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The driver of an 18-wheeler narrowly escaped injury Wednesday afternoon when he had to jump to safety before his truck plummeted down the side of Old Fort Mountain.

The driver, Tyler Lamar Sanders, of Greenwood, Mississippi, told troopers he was heading eastbound on I-40 near mile marker 69 when he lost his brakes, travelled approximately 150 yards on a grass bank, before going over the side of the mountain. The truck then travelled about 150 yards down a steep cliff.

Sanders was able to jump out before it went downhill and was not injured. He was taken to McDowell Hospital as a precaution, Trooper D.R. Alexander said at the scene.

“He said he stopped at the top of the mountain (to cool his brakes) but we don’t know for sure,” said Alexander, who added there was no suspicion of impairment from the driver.

Sanders told authorities he was hauling coleslaw. The truck was also reported to be on fire, but it was just smoke coming from the brakes, Alexander said.

Old Fort Fire Department, Old Fort Police Department, Emergency Management, N.C. Highway Patrol and NCDOT responded to the scene.