Truck driver charged after 840kg metal spill that caused traffic chaos

A truck driver has been charged after 840kg of metal scraps spilled onto a major highway, impacting an estimated 300 cars and bringing traffic to a standstill.

The driver of a truck which spilled hundreds of kilos of metal fragments onto the Pacific Motorway on the Central Coast, damaging hundreds of vehicles, will face court later this year after being charged by police.

Traffic was brought to a standstill on the Pacific Motorway on May 2 after a truck spilled 840kg of metal pieces across a 30km stretch from Ourimbah to Mount White at about 5am.

It was estimated that 300 cars had their tyres punctured as they ran over the tiny pieces of metal, closing the southbound lanes of the highway.

The incident caused traffic chaos. Picture: Live Traffic NSW.

Hundreds of kilos of pieces of metal spilled onto the road. Picture: Facebook

It took 10 hours to re-open the highway - prompting some people to abandon their cars - as a massive clean up effort got under way to remove pieces of finely ground steel from the road.

There were no reports of injuries, and at the time police said it was lucky the incident did not result in a serious accident.

At the time, police spoke with the driver of a heavy vehicle tipper which was towing a trailer.

840kg of metal spilled onto the road. Picture: Live Traffic NSW.

On Saturday, the 46-year-old driver was given a court attendance notice after being charged with driving a heavy vehicle not complying with loading requirements.

The man is due to appear in Hornsby Local Court on July 10.

In a statement earlier this month, trucking company NJ Ashton apologised for the incident.

“We’d like to thank all motorists, and anyone else impacted in some way, for their patience today. The driver is devastated and profoundly apologetic — as are we,” the company said in a statement.