Ammonia theft closes down Tulsa highway

Tulsa Police are looking for the people who tried to break into a pipeline late Thursday evening. <br><br>It forced them to close a Tulsa highway for hours. Authorities say around 11:30 PM, a driver

Friday, October 4th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Tulsa Police are looking for the people who tried to break into a pipeline late Thursday evening.

It forced them to close a Tulsa highway for hours. Authorities say around 11:30 PM, a driver on Highway 75 smelled ammonia and called emergency crews. They discovered a pipeline of anhydrous ammonia leaking along with evidence that someone was trying to steal it. Tulsa Fire District Chief Roy Smith, â€œwe feel like they were trying to break in so they could get some anhydrous ammonia for making some meth lab drugs.â€

Williams Company crews were called in to fix the leak. It forced officials to close Highway 75 between 56th Street North and 66th Street North starting at about midnight. Southbound lanes reopened about two hours later. Northbound lanes were closed until about 5:30 AM.

Officials say anhydrous ammonia can be fatal if a person breathes too much of it.