Semi rollover avoids I-45 traffic disaster

State troopers and a tow truck driver wait for another tow truck to arrive so they can lift upright a tractor trailer that rolled over on I-45 early on the morning of Sept. 19. The accident occurred about the 137 mile marker, about five miles south of Madisonville. Roxanne McKnight/Madisonville Meteor/Get photos online at madisonvillemeteor.com

Roxanne McKnight with The Meteor

A tractor-trailer heading southbound on I-45 Friday morning veered into the median and crossed northbound traffic before flipping on its side in the grass beside the highway. Fortunately, no other vehicle became involved in the wreck.

The accident occurred on Sept. 19 about 4:45 a.m. near mile marker 137, five miles south of Madisonville.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation, but the driver, Gilbert Abshire of Houston, told state troopers that before he lost control he felt a sharp abdominal pain and passed out briefly.

Abshire was taken by EMS to Madison St. Joseph Hospital in Madisonville. He was driving the vehicle for AAA Cooper, headquartered in Dothan, Ala.