SEYMOUR, Ind. — An overweight load of unrefrigerated food and untaxed alcohol was found Friday by Indiana State Police during a traffic stop on a box truck in Jackson County.
The truck was pulled over on I-65 in Seymour. Police said that at approximately 2:30 p.m. Friday a concerned driver reported a Penske box truck moving north near the 50 mile marker.
The caller said the truck had a blown tire and was still driving, throwing debris at other drivers. The truck was also allegedly leaning to one side and the driver had trouble keeping the truck under control.
Troopers said they eventually pulled the truck over near the 52 mile marker. An inspection of the truck allegedly revealed heavy loads of unrefrigerated fruits, vegetables, fish and alcoholic beverages.
The Jackson County Health Department was contacted to inspect the load, police said, and ISP Motor Carrier Inspectors responded to inspect the vehicle. A check on the vehicle’s weight show that the truck weighed approximately 15,000 pounds more than is allowable by law.
The vehicle was impounded and placed in a secure facility, police said. It was then offloaded on Saturday and Monday. The Jackson County Health Department oversaw the destruction of approximately 200 pounds of fish and 400 bags of vegetables that were not properly refrigerated.
The Indiana State Excise Police also obtained a search warrant for the vehicle to confiscate untaxed alcoholic beverages located in the truck. As a result of the search warrant, approximately 400 cases of beer were seized.
The driver of the vehicle, a Florida resident, received citations related to transporting perishable foods in excess of acceptable temperatures and not having a required logbook. Numerous other motor carrier violations were noted on an inspection report as well.
The driver was then released with the truck containing the remaining food items he was permitted to possess.