Richard Francis chokes on coffee, wrecks his big-rig.

The driver of a tractor-trailer that overturned and backed up Interstate 81 near Carlisle Wednesday lost control of the vehicle after choking on some coffee, state police said.

Richard Francis, 61, was driving south on the interstate when he took the offending sip of coffee near Exit 44 at about 3:12 p.m., state police reported. Francis was trying to pull off the roadway onto the right shoulder to settle himself when the vehicle slid into the grass off the shoulder and struck a wire fence, police said.

According to police, the truck traveled about 500 feet in the grass before one of its trailers overturned onto its right side.

Francis, of Mechanicsburg, was wearing his seatbelt and was not injured in the crash, police said. The wreck tied up traffic southbound for almost two hours until police cleared the scene just before 5 p.m., according to Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's traffic alert website.

Police ended up charging Francis with one count of failing to drive on roadways laned for traffic, according to the police report filed Thursday.