May 12th, 2010 | 
Author: YUBA CITY, CA – A semi tanker truck crashed Sunday afternoon, May 2, 2010, on a California highway, spilling aqueous ammonia on the roadway and closing down travel lanes for over seven hours. The truck accident occurred on California Highway 99, near Yuba City in Sutter County, CA. The accident area is north of the Sacramento metro region in the central-north section of the state, about 125 miles northeast of San Francisco and 120 miles south of Redding, CA.
California Highway Patrol responded to the scene of the truck accident and cordoned off the area around the overturned 18 wheeler and the spilled hazardous material on the highway.
At about 3:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon 62 year old truck driver Richard Dean Spence of Wheatland, CA was northbound on Highway 99 in a double tractor trailer passing through Sutter County south of Yuba City. The truck driver was hauling a load of toxic aqueous ammonia in the tanker truck to be delivered at a destination in the Pleasant Grove area. As the driver reached the intersection of Hwy 99 and Nicolaus Avenue he reportedly lost control of the semi tanker truck.
As the driver was attempting to make a left hand turn onto Nicolaus Ave. he lost control and the tanker truck flipped over on its side. The impact of the truck accident punctured a section of the first tank and the cargo of toxic aqueous ammonia spilled out onto the shoulder of the highway and into the drainage ditch next to the road.
Local emergency personnel responded to the scene of the truck accident and found that the truck driver was able to escape his tanker without any injuries. No other vehicles or persons were involved in the crash.
California Highway Patrol responded to the scene of the truck accident and cordoned off the area around the overturned 18 wheeler and the spilled hazardous material on the highway. Officers closed both eastbound and westbound lanes while the various cleanup crews worked and CHP authorities reconstructed the truck accident.
According to authorities, aqueous ammonia is a toxic substance used in agricultural fertilizing and can cause serious burns to the eyes, skin, and lungs. It can be spread through the air so officials were warning homeowners in the vicinity of the truck accident to close their windows They also prevented others from passing through the immediate area.
MAP
A HazMat team was brought to the site and the crews worked for several hours to clean up the toxic spill and prevent it from getting into any local water systems. The work included excavating soil that may have been contaminated by the ammonia. Others offloaded the ammonia remaining in the damaged tanker into a new truck. Another highway team cleared the debris and wreckage of the truck accident from the eastbound traffic lanes.
The works crews were finally finished after more than seven hours and all directions of Highway 99 were reopened late Sunday night.
At this time the CHP authorities have not determined what caused the truck rollover accident, although there are speculations that the driver may have taken the turn too fast. No charges or citations have been made.
The tanker truck crash remains under investigation.
For more information about California trucking laws, truck injury causes and victims rights, contact nationwide truck accident attorneys Gordon, Elias & Seely, LLP for expert advice. For a free initial consultation, talk to a CA truck accident lawyer at 800.773.6770.
Posted in 
Tags: