Staff report

A trucker was injured and traffic was delayed early Sunday after an 18-wheeler blew a tire and overturned on Interstate 10 in Jefferson County.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said in an issued statement the eastbound truck, which was hauling soap, sustained the blowout around 12:30 a.m. to a passenger-side tire, causing the vehicle and its load to veer right and strike an outside concrete barrier. The impact caused the vehicle to cross both eastbound lanes near Hamshire Road and enter the grass median.

The driver, Abel Gonzalez, 47, of Houston, was transported by ambulance to St. Elizabeth hospital, where he was treated and released.

The 18-wheeler’s load was spilled onto the roadway, DPS said.  All eastbound traffic lanes of Interstate 10 were closed awhile.

The crash remained under investigation, DPS said.