ELYRIA COLLISION CAUSES FUEL SPILL

Elyria – A crash Friday morning on Route 57 at Abbe Road sent one man to the hospital and about 40 gallons of diesel fuel all over the roadway.

Tom Kelley, Director of Lorain County Emergency Management and Homeland Security, said the collision was a direct hit to the trucks saddle tank. “Apparently the truck was west on 57 and was in the turning lane to go north onto Abbe when at the last minute he changed his mind or something and decided to cut back into the straight lane and that is when the driver of the Yukon struck him broadside. The hit was direct to the saddle tank on the drivers side and that punctured a hole causing the spill.”

Kelley said the collision to the saddle tank was so hard it even sprayed diesel fuel all over the Yukon.

Firefighters arrived and found a wide area of the roadway had been covered by the fuel so they requested that Kelley be dispatched to the scene.

While LifeCare Paramedics treated the driver of the Yukon Firefighters were working to contain and clean up the spill that had already started leaking into the storm drain. The truck driver refused any treatment or transport.

A joint decision was made between Police and Fire Officials to shut down the westbound traffic on 57 between Gulf and Abbe while the clean up operation was underway. The closure lasted about an hour.

A city street sweeper then arrived to pick up the remaining absorbent that was left on the roadway.

Special absorbent was used to get up as much of the spilled fuel as possible off the roadway. Absorbent pads were dropped into the sewer drain to soak up as much fuel as possible and then the rest was removed by the old reliable Folger’s Coffee can. Kelley said a couple of booms were left inside of the sewer for a few days to soak up any remaining fuel.

A city street sweeper then arrived to pick up the remaining absorbent that was left on the roadway.

A representative from the Ohio EPA was also called to the scene to inspect the clean up. “Anytime a visible spill gets into a sewer, a ditch, a pond or whatever we notify the EPA and they will come out and take a look at the situation.”

Kelley said that because the driver of the truck was at fault his company will be responsible for all of the cleanup costs, including any materials used, manpower and any overtime. Because it was an accident and not an intentional spill the company is not likely to be cited. The driver will however be cited for the crash itself.


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