Unhappy hour: Truck with 40,000 pounds of vodka overturns

CLAYTON, N.C. (AP) – A tractor trailer full of vodka has overturned on a North Carolina highway and it may take until happy hour to clean up the mess.

Clayton police said on Twitter that the truck tipped on its side around 5:45 a.m. Thursday on U.S. Highway 70, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of Raleigh.

A witness helped the driver get out of the cab safely.

Police said the truck was carrying about 40,000 pounds of vodka.

Authorities say the load was so heavy, that when a tow truck tried to turn the truck right side up, the truck’s metal exterior bent.

So instead, workers are taking the boxes of vodka off one at a time. Clayton officials say the mess might not be cleaned up and the road reopened until 5 p.m. Thursday.

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