A truckload of America’s most valuable commodity was lost in a fiery crash on Wednesday morning.
An 18-wheeler carrying commercial toilet paper overturned on the Interstate 20 in the early hours of the morning and caught fire, causing the vast majority of its precious cargo to go up in flames.
The driver reportedly lost control of the big rig while headed westbound; neither he nor his dog, who was accompanying him in the cab, were hurt in the accident.
But by the time firefighters arrived, the tractor-trailer and its contents were already ablaze. Painful pictures from the scene show the surviving toilet tissue strewn across the motorway.
The crash could not have happened at a worse time, as the country battles the outbreak of novel coronavirus — and with it a desperate dearth of toilet rolls on supermarket shelves.
Crash spills toilet paper across I-20 in South Dallas. A semi heading to San Antonio from Alabama rolls over catching fire. Avoid I-20 westbound at I-45 if possible. It will take crews a few hours to clean up the paper mess. No one was hurt in the crash. pic.twitter.com/1jtr1BNRwO
— Nune (@kdfw015) April 1, 2020
As the first reports of COVID-19 began to emerge and lockdown orders brewed, panic buying caused shoppers to stock up on months’ supplies of toilet paper; even as essentials like eggs and milk begin to refill in stores, the bathroom essential remains scarce.
A day earlier, Texas Governor Greg Abbott expanded his existing executive order, telling Texans to stay home unless working somewhere listed as an essential business.
Nevertheless, the crash caused significant back-up as traffic remained thick during rush hour.
But as one commenter suggested: “Just open the roads and the crazy people will have it cleaned in 5min.”
Another lamented that the toilets rolls already had skid marks on them.
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