CBP Port Director Aids Truck-Rollover Accident Victim

Sweetgrass, Mont.— U.S. Customs and Border Protection Port Director, Larry Overcast, was on his way home after work about 5:00 p.m. on November 22 when he spotted on overturned tractor-trailer lying on its side in the north-bound lanes of Interstate 15, about 3 miles south of the port of Sweetgrass.

The driver of the truck was still in the cab and emergency response personnel had not arrived, so Overcast stopped to assist the driver. Overcast was able to speak to the driver through the windshield. The driver said he wasn’t hurt, just shaken up. The truck was lying on the driver’s side, so Overcast helped the driver exit the cab of the truck through the window on the passenger side. Overcast telephoned the Customs Area Security Center at the port of Sweetgrass and asked a CBP officer to call for the assistance of local emergency responders.

Strong winds were blowing in the area, with gusts estimated to be between 60 and 80 m.p.h. at the time of the accident. The tractor-trailer, which was not hauling any cargo, was south-bound on I-15 when it was hit by a gust that pushed the vehicle into the median and then onto its side in the north-bound passing lane.

Overcast departed after the scene was secured with the arrival of the local fire department and a Toole County Sheriff’s deputy.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.