A Texas man escaped serious injury Sunday morning when his 18-wheeler carrying bales of cotton overturned in the westbound lane of Interstate 20 near the Indiana Avenue exit.

Vicksburg police officer Russell Darsey said Joel Rivera, 29, of Mercedes, Texas, a driver for FMC Transport, was treated at Merit Health River Region Medical Center for injuries he received in the 8:45 a.m. wreck. He said Rivera was later released.

He said Rivera told him he was traveling westbound on I-20 when the load’s weight in the trailer shifted, causing him to veer right, strike the guardrail and overturn.

The wreck backed up westbound traffic on I-20 past the U.S. 61 North exit, and police blocked off the Indiana Avenue bridge over the highway and rerouted vehicles around the wreck using the westbound Indiana Avenue exit.