Saturday, March 7, 2015

PENNSYLVANIA MAN CITED FOR FAILURE TO CONTROL FOR CRASH CAUSING 150 GALLONS OF DIESEL SPILL IN EAST PALESTINE, OHIO







MARCH 7, 2015




EAST PALESTINE, OHIO




A Pennsylvania man was cited and taken to the St. Elizabeth Hospital after the Wednesday crash that spilled about 150 gallons of diesel fuel.




According to the highway patrol report released Friday, Richard E. Atwood Jr., 45, Homestead, Pa., was northbound on state Route 170 in Unity Township at 5:30 a.m. when he attempted to negotiate a curve to the right and went off the road into a tree.




Atwood was driving a 2014 Freightliner for Candy Liberty Co., of West Mifflin, Pa. Unsafe speed was listed as a contributing circumstance to the crash. He was cited for failure to control and he and a passenger, Justin R. Gerber, 22, McKeesport, Pa., were taken to St. Elizabeth Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.




The crash resulted in East Palestine police closing off a portion of state Route 170 from Jimtown to Bye roads while local emergency workers contained the spill, which did not pose any health risks.




The Columbiana County Local Emergency Planning Committee was involved, and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency was also notified, since the spill involved more than 25 gallons, according to previous reports.