MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A tractor-trailer driver said he slammed on his brakes Wednesday afternoon while driving on the Palmetto Expressway, causing the truck to veer into a fence wall and hit a road sign.
The impact caused both directions of the Palmetto Expressway to shut down at Northwest 17th Avenue.
"I was cut off and once I got heavy on the brakes, the truck jackknifed into a wall, and the ... roof of the truck clipped the sign, and the sign went down," the truck driver said.
The driver, who didn't give his name, said the crash played out fast.
"I can't tell you how fast," he said. "I don't even remember it, literally. I thought I was going to hit the wall, and all of sudden, I heard a big bang. The windshield (was) broken. I didn't even know what I hit."
The truck driver is expected to be ticketed for the crash, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Westbound lanes reopened shortly before 8 p.m., and the eastbound lanes opened about 10 p.m.
The crash happened during the height of rush hour. Traffic was backed up onto the Golden Glades Interchange and Interstate 95.
"I just took a detour," one driver said. "It's pretty backed up."
The crash is under investigation.