Creamed cheese: Truck hauling cheese flips over near Boston

QUINCY, Mass. – The driver of a tractor-trailer hauling cheese that rolled onto its side just outside Boston, blocking a major interstate, has pleaded not guilty to drunken driving charges.

Eri Pleitez was held on $2,500 bail at his arraignment Thursday, just hours after the truck crashed on an Interstate 93 exit ramp in Milton at about 1 a.m., damaging guard rails, and taking down power lines.

Prosecutors say the 43-year-old Lynn man drank six beers hours before the crash and had a blood alcohol content of .11, above the .08 that is the state’s legal limit to drive.

He wasn’t injured.

The highway was closed in both directions for a time and 38,000 pounds of cheese had to be removed from the truck before it was uprighted.

The driver’s attorney says the crash was caused by another vehicle that cut off his client.