A coal truck rollover crash in Cambria County caused a traffic backup for miles and left a big mess in its path.

The driver, Gregory Klett, walked away without a scratch. Klett, who has been a truck driver for 25 years, said, "I just tried to keep a hold of the truck, which I couldn't do."

The crash happened on Route 219 around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday when the coal truck blew a tire, flipped over and spilled its load across the highway.

"The steer tire blew, and it just threw me straight, and I tried. I had both hands on the wheel. I tried to keep it under control. It just threw me right into the barrier and just hooked the barrier and rode the barrier right down, and luckily it flipped over slow and not fast," Klett said.

The truck spilled coal onto the northbound lane, backing up traffic for miles and leaving a mess for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to clean up.

Larry Penatzer, assistant fire chief in Summerhill Borough, said, "They're cleaning the coal up. They're also going to be coming with sand to get the oil spill on the southbound side."

When crews arrived, Klett was still inside the truck, shaken up. Klett said, "We kicked the driver's window for me to get out through the window because we couldn't get the top door open."

Klett credits wearing his seat belt for saving his life and being very lucky. He said he is thankful that he didn't go over a cliff because the guardrails wouldn't have stopped the truck.

Penatzer said, "He's very lucky. That could have gone through the barrier into another vehicle."

Due to the magnitude of the mess, it took crews hours to clean it up and move the truck, at times closing both lanes of traffic.