Heavy Equipment Accident Blocks Traffic at Jacob’s Ladder Last Week

 

Scrape marks on the roadway show how far the heavy machinery slid down Jacob’s Ladder after falling off a trailer at the crest of the steep section of the South Shore Road on Wednesday, April 23.

Contractor Paul Pono brought his heavy equipment to town from Peter Bay to right a tele-handler forklift that had flipped on Jacob’s Ladder on South Shore Road on Wednesday morning, April 23.

When the tractor pulling the forklift to a construction site on a low-boy trailer failed to clear the crest of the hill, the rig began to roll back down the hill and the tele-handler snapped the chains holding it to the trailer  chains and flipped off near the top of the steep incline in Enighed, according to witnesses. The machine then slid down the hill on its side before it ended up across the middle of the steep hill with its wheels facing up hill.

Local contractor Paul Pono, center, was able to move the toppled tele-handler with his heavy equipment. No one was injured in the accident which closed the road for several hours.

Local contractor Paul Pono uses his machinery to bring the toppled forklift upright.

Traffic was diverted for most of the morning before Pono and his assistant Beau Layton assembled the equipment to lift the heavy piece of machinery up hill onto its wheels.
Emergency personnel from the V.I. Fire Department and St. John Rescue were first responders. St. John Public Works officials also were on hand to provide sand to contain spilled fuel. The contractor responsible for the toppled tele-handler cleaned up the scene.

VIPD officers also attended.