Nicole Young and Adam Tamburin

Gannett Tennessee;

Clean up crews were continuing their efforts to clear the on-ramp to Interstate 65 northbound near Cross Plains Tuesday evening after a tractor trailer hauling 33,000 pounds of avocados flipped earlier that day.

The ramp was closed shortly before 4 p.m. so that the truck could be flipped back over and removed, according to Cross Plains Fire Chief Tommy Jackson, who estimates the ramp will reopen sometime between 5-6 p.m.

No one was injured in the crash, which happened at about 3:30 a.m.

The driver of the semi, who was not identified by authorities, told investigators that he'd stopped at the on-ramp to use the restroom, according to Jackson. He added that the driver said he engaged the truck's air brake system before exiting the truck, but it failed and the truck began rolling down the on-ramp.

The truck ended up on its side in a ditch just off the on-ramp.

Crews from two wrecker companies were brought to the scene to offload the truck's cargo.

Officials at the scene said if the avocados were still in their original trays and hadn't touched the ground or the floor of the semi trailer, they may be salvageable. Crews were loading what remained of the intact trays into a separate semi truck at the scene. It was estimated that about half of the load had come out of its original packaging, and therefore, would have to be destroyed.

The owner of the trucking company, Billy Voiles of Jamestown, Tenn., arrived on the scene at about 9 a.m. He noted that his company was waiting on an answer from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture on whether the avocados that remained in their original packaging could be re-processed for sale.

Voiles and his friend, Claude Smith, ate avocados from the wreckage while the investigators worked nearby.