VIPER — A section of Highway 7 in Perry County was closed Monday morning after a loaded coal truck turned over in a roadside ditch.
Perry County Sheriff’s Deputy Shawn White said the driver of the silver-cabbed truck was driving in a narrow stretch of highway heading south, just before My Witzend Road about four miles from Highway 15, when his wheels ran off the pavement and he lost control of the vehicle. The driver, whose name was not released, was taken to the Hazard ARH for minor injuries.
White said when the truck hit the ditch it ruptured a waterline, which caused a temporary water outage from My Witzend to Viper once the truck was flipped back over and crews assessed the damage to the pipe Monday afternoon.
A boil water advisory has been issued for Hazard water customers who live in the Big Branch area between the mouth of Viper and Joe’s Hardware. Bobby Holland, Jr., water superintendent for the city of Hazard, said the advisory could remain in effect for several days.
“The coal truck snagged a rock when it hit the ditch and it ruptured that waterline,” he said. “We have a boil water advisory in effect for that area for the next few days. We have to wait for the lab to do tests on the water, that takes about 24 hours for the test, to make sure there’s no bacteria in it.”
Holland said the waterline had been laid recently and had not had time to settle or harden to be able to withstand any kind of stress such as the truck caused.








