By By Lisa Tindell – news writer
For more than 17 hours on Tuesday, drivers on U.S. Highway 41 found themselves taking the long way around.
Just after midnight on Tuesday, emergency personnel responded to an accident on U.S. 41 about two miles south of the Brewton Airport when a semi truck pulling piggy-back trailers left the roadway and overturned. Since the truck was carrying a hazardous material, special personnel from Brewton and Mobile responded to the incident.
The driver of the truck bound for Milton, Fla., was Johnny Hoggard of Dallas, Ga. He was treated at D.W. McMillan Hospital for minor injuries sustained in the accident. He was released shortly after treatment.
Hoggard explained that he left the roadway in order to avoid an oncoming vehicle.
J.D. Turner with the Mobile Fire and Rescue Haz-Mat team said that his department got the call to respond just after 4 a.m.
Emergency teams responding to the accident included the Brewton Fire Department, East Brewton Fire Department, Escambia County Rescue Squad, Escambia County Sheriffs personnel, Escambia County Emergency Management Agency personnel, Mobile Fire and Rescue Haz-Mat team, Alabama State Troopers and the Alabama Department of Transportation.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, dimethylformamide is used as an industrial solvent and in the production of fibers, films, and surface coatings.  Acute (short-term) exposure to dimethylformamide has been observed to damage the liver in animals and in humans.