Gasoline spill on Keystone Expressway closes highway for 10 hours

Sunday, June 9th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A traffic mess on the Keystone expressway Sunday morning. A tanker truck carrying 8,800 gallons of gasoline flipped over on the westbound lane of 412 around 5:30 Sunday morning sending the driver to the hospital.

News on Six reporter Patrina Adger was on the scene Sunday and says the driver of a tanker truck took a turn on the Keystone Expressway early Sunday morning when he lost control of the truck causing it to flip sideways landing across all the westbound lanes of 412.

The truck spilled 4,000 gallons of unleaded and premium gasoline onto the street and sewer.

Traffic going both ways on 412 was rerouted for more than ten hours, as Tulsa Fire Department's hazardous response, Haz-Mat and several other agencies worked quickly, non-stop to contain the area, laying down foam material to neutralize the substance. Tulsa Fire Department Captain Hubert Rouse, "There's a large pool of fuel down here, that's gonna have to be dealt with so it's gonna take a period of time to try and suck what we can up and make sure it's safe."

While crews continued to deal with the mess on the street, Sooner Emergency Services had an even bigger problem at the river. Gasoline leaked into the storm water system's drainage system and into the Arkansas River.

Sooner Emergency brought in booming equipment and pads to soak up as much gasoline as they possibly could. "Public Works was very active in flushing water into the water system to try and eliminate any type of vapors possibly creating." Captain Rouse says it's not determined how much gasoline went into the river but not enough to create and environmental concern.

The driver of the truck works with Oklahoma Truck Lines, a company that hauls gas for Quik Trip. He was sent to the hospital with a few scrapes and cuts but was released from Tulsa Regional Medical Center Sunday afternoon. The cause of the crash is yet to be determined.

It rained quite a bit overnight, so there was moisture on the road but Oklahoma Department of Transportation officials tell us speed may have played a part in this as well.