Huge Butter Spill Creates Jam on Indianapolis Highway

Dairy truck split open when driver struck barrier.

ByABC News
August 1, 2014, 10:46 AM

— -- Butter and jam usually conjures up images of warm toast, but on an Indianapolis highway today it meant a huge slippery mess that closed part of busy highway during the morning rush hour.

A dairy truck crashed overnight on Interstate 465 and spilled over 45,000 pounds of butter, margarine and whipped cream.

"Our preliminary conclusion is that the truck driver fell asleep while driving, hit a barrier, and crashed at around 3:30 a.m.," Capt. David Dursten, spokesman for the Indiana State Police told ABC News.

The semi split in half, spilling tubes of butter and tins of whipped cream.

"Our crew is using a sand truck and a front-end loader to absorb and scoop up the sticky coat on the road into trash bins," Dursten said.

The right two lands of the interstate highway are expected to be closed until about noon while the crew removes the mess,the officer said.

There was a passenger in the truck. No one was injured.

"I was joking with my colleagues, wonder if anyone called IHOP and ordered 2,000 pounds of pancakes," Dursten said.