March 14--TROY -- A tractor-trailer carrying 8,000 gallons of denatured alcohol overturned before dawn Wednesday near Troy in Lincoln County, injuring the driver and shutting down Highway 61 in both directions. The highway was reopened at about 1 p.m.
The Missouri Highway Patrol is investigating the crash, which happened at about 5 a.m. Wednesday on Highway 61 at Creech Lane. The alcohol did not catch fire, and no nearby residents had to be evacuated, said Barry Nuss, fire marshal with the Lincoln County Fire Protection District.
The truck's driver, John Suhr, 70, of St. Olaf, Iowa, was airlifted to Mercy Hospital St. Louis in Creve Coeur with serious injuries, the Missouri Highway Patrol said. He was going south on 61 and veered off the left side of the road and overcorrected in the median, causing the truck to tip, the patrol said.
Denatured alcohol, which is highly flammable, has a variety of uses including as a solvent and an alternative fuel, Nuss said.
Some of the alcohol spilled in the crash and was still leaking afterward, but Nuss said the vast majority of it remained in the tanker. Another tanker came to the crash site so the remaining alcohol can be transferred onto it.
Copyright 2012 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
