Driver Dead after Semi-Truck With Anhydrous ammonia Hazardous Material Rolls Over and Crashes on I-90 Near Cle Elum, WA
By The Associated Press
CLE ELUM, Wash. — Aug 3, 2016, 11:47 PM ET
A semitrailer carrying hazardous material crashed on Interstate 90 in central Washington state, killing the driver, sending fumes into the air and causing some residences to be temporarily evacuated.
Washington State Patrol Trooper John Bryant says hazmat crews plugged a vent in a 1,000-gallon tank that punctured in the crash and released anhydrous ammonia, a gas widely used on farms as nitrogen fertilizer.
Eastbound lanes of I-90 between Cle Elum and Ellensburg re-opened to traffic in the afternoon while westbound lanes re-opened at 8 p.m. Cle Elum is about 75 miles southeast of Seattle.
Bryant says the truck was heading west with four tanks of anhydrous ammonia Wednesday morning when the driver apparently lost control, veered into the median and rolled over.
One of the tanks punctured. The crash ignited a blaze that firefighters quickly put out.
Bryant says hazmat crews and others cleared the scene. One trooper was treated and released from a local hospital for possible exposure to the chemical.
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One person was killed in a collision on Interstate 90 in Kittitas County. The road was closed in both directions for much of the day. Both lanes have since opened.
Vernal Coleman
Seattle Times staff reporter
One person died in a Wednesday collision on Interstate 90 near Cle Elum, Kittitas County, according to a Washington State Patrol tweet.
The collision was in the westbound lane, and involved a tanker truck and at least one other vehicle, Trooper Brian Moore tweeted. After the crash, the tanker truck caught fire.
State officials closed both directions of the freeway in the crash area for much of the day and advised drivers to seek alternative routes. Both lanes have since opened.
One of four tanks that fell off the truck began leaking ammonia. Residents living within a mile of the crash site are advised to close windows and turn off air-conditioning units, the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office tweeted.