Delaware ramp reopens after bee swarm released, driver gets citation

A driver taking a truckload of bees from Florida to Maine has been cited by police after the tractor-trailer crashed in Newark, Delaware, releasing millions of bees and forcing the closure of an on-ramp for 12 hours.

The truck was carrying 460 hives with a total of 16 million to 20 million bees when it crashed while heading northbound on I-95. It fell over and crashed around 6 p.m. Tuesday and police had to close the ramp from Route 896 to I-95.

According to the Delaware News Journal, the ramp wasn’t re-opened until 6:50 a.m. Wednesday morning. Driver Adolpho Guerra, 55, received a citation from state police for having an unsafe load. Sgt. Paul Shavack said that Guerra and his two passengers were taken to a local hospital to be treated for minor injuries, including bee stings.

The state department of transportation also closed the right northbound lane on I-95, which re-opened at 5:45 a.m. Wednesday. By 7:30 a.m., only a few bees remained in the area.

Thankfully, Shevack noted that there was a “bee swarm removal procedure,” which included contacting experts to the area to help capture the bees. “This is the first time we've actually activated the plan,” he told the News Journal. The keepers who found the bees will be allowed to keep them, Shevack said.

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