Interstate Closes For Two Hours As Authorities Search Truck

FBI, Secret Service, Local Police Involved In Search

POSTED: 11:56 am CDT May 25, 2004
UPDATED: 7:44 pm CDT May 25, 2004

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Traffic on Interstate 65 was shut down Tuesday after federal and local authorities searched a suspicious 18-wheeler for two hours because of concerns about possible explosives on the truck.

Police pulled over the truck at approximately 10:30 a.m. when its tags appeared altered.

The search involved FBI agents, as well as Birmingham and Gardendale police. Traffic on Interstate 65 was shut down in both directions and a no-fly zone was imposed over the area because of concern about explosives on the truck.

Members of the Secret Service and the Homeland Security Department conducted the search. The search intensified when explosive-sniffing dogs reacted to the truck’s contents.

"Our officers received a request to stop the vehicle and we stopped it and that's all that I can say about the matter,” said Birmingham Police Chief Annetta Nunn.

I-65 reopened shortly after noon and the truck was allowed to leave about an hour later, after the driver was issued a ticket for an improperly altered tag.

The truck was stopped on the northbound lanes of the interstate. Traffic on I-65 was then diverted onto the Fieldstown exit. The interstate has since been reopened to the public.

Agents thoroughly inspected the truck and a Jefferson County bomb squad also made an inspection. At this time, it is not known what the results of those inspections might be. However, investigators did collect samples of an oily substance from the truck.

NBC13 contacted both the Secret Service and the U.S. Attorneys office for comment. So far they have not released a statement on what was inside the truck.

Slideshow: Police Search Suspicious Truck