A crash involving four 18-wheelers and a passenger car on Interstate 10 Sunday morning didn't just leave one person injured — it left some 40,000 pounds of candles sprawled across hot concrete.
It "made the roadway a little slick, with the heat and the wax," said State Trooper Shelby Mayfield, spokesperson for Troop A.
"Crews put sand on the road for safety," he said.
The crash happened at about 4 a.m. Sunday on I-10 at La. 415 in West Baton Rouge Parish. It overturned four 18-wheelers, one hauling boxes of candles made by the Root American Candles Company of Medina, Ohio.
Westbound traffic was diverted while the wreckage and candles were cleared, and a driver of one of the trucks was transported to the hospital with minor to moderate injures, Mayfield said.
Until the trucking company hauling the candles was able to send its representatives and equipment to load up and remove the spilled goods, state Department of Transportation and Development crews responded with a backhoe to assist with the cleanup.
"After everything was picked up, we sent a sand truck to sand the road, due to the melted candle wax," DOTD spokesperson Rodney Mallett said. "The road was opened around 4 p.m. Sunday."
Mayfield said the driver of the passenger car involved in the wreck "was impaired and charged accordingly."
A report on the cause of the crash had not yet been released by State Police as of 2 p.m. Monday.