YULEE, Fla. – Nassau County residents are worried about a huge pile of food, cardboard and plastic debris that remains in the Nassau River six days after a tractor-trailer crash on Interstate 95.
The southbound lanes of I-95 was closed for nearly 10 hours on Saturday after a trailer overturned on the overpass, spilling its load of supplies bound for Burger King restaurants onto the highway and into the river below.
Produce, boxes, packaging and other items are still floating in part of the river Wednesday, washing up on the banks.
Bobby Harris posted a video on his Facebook page showing the mess and directly addressed Burger King: "Ya'll people come clean your mess up. People fish through here."
People in the area do fish and boat in the river, and just enjoy its beauty.
One man who grew up along the river is disappointed the mess hasn't been cleaned up yet and is worried about the safety of people who eat fish from the river.
"The fish are obviously going to come to the top of the water feed on it," Tommy Jewell. "That plastic will break open. It's going to get inside their bodies. It's going to start to kill them."
Jewell says the river is full of red fish and trout, and that dolphins and manatees also swim there.
"For the next six months, you might not want to eat those fish because they may have plastic or rotten meat or fruit inside that could mess up their bodies," Jewell said. "I don't know what it would do to them, and I don't want people around here to take that risk."
Residents don't know who is responsible for the mess; they just want it cleaned up.
Channel 4 contacted Burger King's corporate office and had not received a reply by close of business Friday. A Nassau County employee said he was not aware of the situation and promised to find out what could be done. The county had also not called by the end of the day.