Prince George's County, Md. firefighters responded to a diesel fuel tanker crash yesterday (Dec. 6) that seriously injured the driver, according to department spokesman Mark Brady in a press release.
Fire Chief Lawrence H. Sedgwick, Jr., Lt. Col. Karl Granzow and Executive Officer Major Larry Joy made their way north on Route 301, returning from a promotional event when they came upon the scene.
The tanker had jack knifed and collided with a guardrail along the slow shoulder of the road. According to Brady, the cab of the truck crossed over the guardrail and made impact with several large trees, which ended up supporting the vehicle as it hung over an embankment.
The cab of the truck sustained damage and broke the two saddle fuel tanks on the truck allowing up to 150 gallons of fuel to escape. The tanker portion was reported to be empty of any product and remained intact, according to the press release.
Due to the location of the crash, crews required about 30 minutes to remove the driver from the scene, decontaminate him as he lay in a pool of diesel fuel and transport him to the trauma center.
The department's hazmat team worked to control the flow of diesel fuel from the trucks saddle tanks, offload the remaining product and clean-up any contaminated products from the scene.
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