The morning commute got even worse for some motorists traveling south on Route 8 in Venango County on Tuesday when their tires got flattened by metal shavings dropped from the container bed of a truck.

The drivers' nightmare flooded state police with dozens of calls from angry motorists between 7 and 7:15 a.m. and forced the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to close both southbound lanes between the Route 308 exit in Victory Township to the Interstate 80 on-ramp in Barkeyville.

Police eventually identified the unsuspecting culprit — a truck from McClymonds Supply & Transit of Portersville that was hauling metal shavings. The debris began to spill out of the truck bed onto the road about 6:40 a.m. in the area of Route 8 and Old Route 8 in Sandycreek Township, police said.

“The shavings were various sizes but they were all fairly small,” Trooper Michelle McGee said Wednesday. “Some were the size of a pen and others were like small chips.”

Troopers said the driver was unaware of the unsecured load as he continued to travel onto Interstate 80 westbound to Interstate 79 southbound toward New Castle.

Police did not know the exact number of victims, but it was more than a handful.

By 3 p.m. Tuesday, police fielded “over 40 calls,” McGee said.

Troopers from the Mercer and New Castle stations were called out and subsequently tracked down the truck and driver.

McClymonds officials, police said, were “fully cooperative” in the investigation. The road was reopened about 3 p.m.

McGee said the driver, whose name was not immediately released, was cited for driving a vehicle with an unsecured load.

Drivers who sustained flattened or punctured tires are advised to contact the company's insurance carrier, Encova Insurance, by calling 1-800-876-8766 and referring to claim number 500-00-009300 and Pennsylvania State Police incident number PA20-331114.

Police noted photos of the tire damage, lodged debris and/or invoices indicating the tire damage would support the claim.

Additionally, police warned fraudulent claims would be investigated.