IDL traffic redirected after tanker crash
BY AMANDA BLAND World Staff Writer
Thursday, November 08, 2012
11/08/12 at 4:37 PM
Emergency personnel closed a portion of the Inner Dispersal Loop for almost six hours after a tanker truck crash that resulted in thousands of gallons of crude oil being spilled.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers and Tulsa police responded to the injury wreck on the exit ramp from eastbound Interstate 244 to the L.L. Tisdale Expressway northbound at 7:03 a.m.
The Tiga Logistics tanker was carrying 8,000 gallons of crude oil, more than half of which flowed south down the exit ramp and soaked into a sloped, grass median as hazardous materials crews from the Tulsa Fire Department and the Environmental Protection Agency worked to contain the spill, said Tulsa Police Cpl. Phil Snow.
Medics treated and transported the 44-year-old driver to OSU Medical Center, where he was admitted in fair condition, according to EMSA representatives.
The cause of the wreck appears to be related to the truck’s speed and several threadbare tires, police said. The driver, who is from California, is expected to be cited for both violations.
Dozens of emergency personnel were on scene as trenches were dug to prevent the spill from contaminating a nearby water drain. The ramp was closed from shortly after 7 a.m. until 1 p.m., according to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
Associated Images:
Environmental Remediation Specialists workers tend to an overturned tanker that wrecked on the exit ramp from eastbound Interstate 244 to the L.L. Tisdale Parkway northbound, on Thursday. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World
Tulsa firefighters investigate a tanker that overturned and caused an oil spill on the exit ramp from eastbound Interstate 244 to the L.L. Tisdale Parkway northbound, on Thursday. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World
Emergency crews investigate a tanker that overturned and caused a crude oil spill on the exit ramp from eastbound Interstate 244 to the L.L. Tisdale Parkway northbound, on Thursday. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World
Environmental Remediation Specialists workers tend to an overturned semitruck that wrecked on the exit ramp from eastbound Interstate 244 to the L.L. Tisdale Parkway northbound, on Thursday. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World
Hazardous materials crews use an inflatable reservoir in an attempt to contain 8,000 gallons of crude oil that leaked from a wrecked tanker on Thursday. AMANDA BLAND/Tulsa World
Construction crews dig trenches in a sloped median where crude oil that leaked from a wrecked tanker pooled on Thursday. The trenches were dug to prevent the oil from contaminating a nearby water drain. AMANDA BLAND/Tulsa World
A tanker truck has turned over on the IDL blocking traffic and spilling oil on the roadway during the morning drive on Thursday. JOEY JOHNSON/For the Tulsa World
A tanker truck has turned over on the IDL blocking traffic and spilling oil on the roadway during the morning drive on Thursday. JOEY JOHNSON/For the Tulsa World
A tanker truck has turned over on the IDL blocking traffic and spilling oil on the roadway during the morning drive on Thursday. JOEY JOHNSON/For the Tulsa World
A tanker truck has turned over on the IDL blocking traffic and spilling oil on the roadway during the morning drive on Thursday. JOEY JOHNSON/For the Tulsa World
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